The other day we looked at the way Jesus used a parable to teach something about God. We saw How God, the landowner, called workers into his vineyard and they obeyed. God calls people to work for Him. Have you obeyed?
In the parable we saw some of the workers were not called to work until the eleventh hour. In other words, they had not been given the opportunity to work earlier. There are people like that in our churches. They don’t just see a job and get in and do it. They wait till they’re asked. Perhaps there are people like that in your church, too hesitant or shy to come forward, but if they were asked to a job might be willing. They’re like the reserves or interchange players in a game of footy. They need to be called off the bench to take their place in the team.
Other people in our churches don’t wait to be asked. They are the ones that will come forward and volunteer. They want to work for God and want to know how best they can help. The danger here is that these people are so eager to work for God that they end up taking on too much. They become overcommitted, hassled, and end up burnt out. Or they get to the point where they think they are indispensable and the church can’t function without them. The truth is no-one is indispensable. If one person cannot or will not do what God requires, God can and will raise up another person to do it. But the person who refuses God will lose the blessing of being obedient.
Which kind of person are you? The one who hangs back and waits to be asked? Or the one who jumps in and volunteers? The important thing is that we take the opportunities for service God presents to us and do the work he has called us to, to the best of our ability, trusting God to provide what we lack. Those God calls He enables. With that in mind, will you look at what God is calling you to do to further His Kingdom this week and then obey?
Please visit these related blogs
7 Marks of the Mature Christian