Insightful Musings on the Scriptures
by
Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Good morning, fellow travelers.
I kind of like the idea that term implies…travelers. We are definitely going somewhere. We’re kind of slow this morning. Near the end of yesterday, I made a run up to the mountain to join my grand-nephew for a round of night skiing. Good time.
Does anyone living near me want a nice little kitty? I’m hoping someone will say, “Yes.” Have a great day. Blessings.
Love, Dad/Ray
All of us would agree that a job description is very important for anyone assigned to do any kind of work. A builder needs to know what and where he supposed to build (“Are you serious?…I built your house on the wrong lot?!”), a teacher needs to know who, and what, and where he is to teach (“Graduate students?! I understood I was assigned to 2nd graders!”), a cook needs to know what and where to cook and for how many (“Oh, no! Did you say 130? I thought I read 13!”), a surgeon needs to know exactly what he is supposed to be cutting out (“Appendectomy? I thought you said ‘colostomy’!”), a pilot needs to know his plane and where he is supposed to go (“What in the world is Mt. Rainier doing next to San Fransisco?”), and a Christian needs to know what he is supposed to be doing as a servant and follower of Christ. It is required of every believer to understand that, within the parameters of the Gospel, there is not only a salvation to receive, but also a job to do. That’s one of the points Paul makes in his farewell address to the Ephesian leaders: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” (v. 24).
I have to conclude that the same basic job description that God gives to Paul is the same basic job description that He gives to you and me. It is “the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” And it involves, as Paul says in verse 27, the objective of proclaiming, “the whole will of God.” It’s not just a message relating to our souls in the hereafter, but the “whole will of God” for our lives in the here and now. There is a need to know God’s will as it relates to integrity, as it relates to work, to marriage, to family, to finance, and to possessions. Obviously, we are surrounded with major needs in all these major areas.
May you be encouraged and blessed as you carry on with your job description of “testifying to the gospel of God’s grace” in every facet of your life.