My Co-worker

As I've been making my way through 1 Thessalonians I kept coming across some wording that struck me as odd, yet I'm certain it's intentional in the way that Paul, Silas and Timothy chose to write it.

"and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ; to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith." (1 Thessalonians 3:2)

Note what it does and does not say: Timothy is their brother and God's fellow worker. Other versions use "fellowlabourer" (KJV) and "God's man for spreading the Message" (The Message). 

I confess, I don't often think of myself as God's co-worker. I think of other Christians as my fellow labourers. But what if I saw them all as my brothers and sisters only? 

I would probably be more gracious, forgiving and tolerant of the little things that being human crop up and annoy or frustrate us. We're all much more forgiving with family. Usually.

And instead of thinking of trudging along with other flawed humans as my partners...what if I actually believed that God's plans hinged on me showing up for work?

Aside from the obvious problem of getting fired (because God would never fire us), there are people depending on you for your "goods and services". If no one showed up at the local Amazon warehouse, we'd all be doing without a whole lot of stuff.

And what happens when one (or a handful) of people are left to do all of the work while everyone else huddles around the water cooler or breakroom just wasting away the day? In the real world, the "few" would probably be resentful, angry and ready to quit. But just for the sake of argument, let's say they are gracious, absolutely love what they are doing, wouldn't trade their job for the world, and find great personal meaning and fulfillment in what they believe is their calling? 

To be honest, the loyal, hardworking labourer can only carry the dead weight for so long. If we're talking about a multi-billion dollar company that spans every corner of the globe, has about 2 billion employees and only about 2 million of them or less are actually doing any work, that means .1% (0.001 or one-thousandth) of the employees are actively engaged in the job to be done. And since there's the global-potential to reach 7 billion "customers", that is 1 co-worker for every 3500 potential clients. If we were Hunger Games people we would say "the odds are definitely not in your favor." 

Anyone out there with a client-base of 3500 people that they need to introduce to the product, peak their interest, sell them the goods, and then provide life-long customer service if need be? Yet, this is exactly the burden we place upon those who are working in the Kingdom if we even have 2 million workers in the fields. Jesus told us two thousand years ago that "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (see Matthew 9:37, NASB) It seems not much has changed in those two thousand years.

Now, while I've crassly placed salvation and God's plan for all of mankind in the context of business, goods, sales and everyday life, I do so for what I hope has become an extremely obvious point:  We take God's grace and Love for granted.

What employer would allow 90% or more of His workers to fill pews, wax philosophical and armchair-coach-away the problems of the world and how they would solve them "if they only had a chance"? That would be the most gracious, loving, kind and longsuffering employer you would ever have.

But here's the beautiful part: He doesn't consider Himself your employer, He is your fellowlabourer.

He's right there in the trenches with you, cheering you on, delighting in your successes and commiserating in your trials and pain. He meets you around the water cooler when you need to debrief and He discusses the next step and the vision in the "business" plan when He's groomed you and you're ready for the next adventure in your career. And no one could be any prouder when you reach "retirement" and hang up your briefcase. Nothing's changed in the company manual in over 5000 years and it will remain the same long after you've reached your Reward.

So here's the question that is begging to be asked:  When your loved ones gather around for the "retirement roast", what will they say of you? Will they mention your financial portfolio? Will they reminisce about your good intentions and ideas? Will they put a gold-plate on the pew that you warmed? Or will your children "rise up and call you blessed" (see Proverbs 31:28, NASB)? Will there be anyone to shake your hand in the Promised Land and say, 'if it weren't for your work, your labor of love (see 1 Thessalonians 1:3), I would not be here?'

It's time to work. No matter what you think the sacrifice may involve, it pales in comparison to the joy and blessings that will be received. Paul went so far as to say, "for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 3:8) 

I'm ready to "really live"...aren't you? So let's go back to the Manual and ask our Co-worker to show us the next phase of His personal Vision for us and as Nike reminds us "Just Do It"!

Parental Guidance Suggested

I am finally falling in love with I Thessalonians! I have even found the verses that best describe how I approach life, love and ministry. And when I fail to live up to the standard put forth by Paul, Silas and Timothy, they are the guiding beacon by which I can align my heart and passion for serving and living out this Journey upon which my feet have embarked.

"For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed-- God is witness-- nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us...You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." (I Thessalonians 2:3-8, 10-12, NASB)

It's a long passage, I know. I won't belabor the points I have previously made. (see Entrusted and Smelling Like Sheep) But I had to delve into this a little further with you, because this is my heart...right there on the page. 

I am not a tender mother. My children can attest to this. But I remember the tenderness and joy of nursing my infant children. 

God help me to never run rough-shod over any believer that is new to the faith. I fed my babies on demand, and as your newborns need fed in the timing that You create for their hunger, may I help feed them with the nourishment that You have already provided. May I never demand anything more from them than You are ready to give them. I trust that they will grow in Your timing...not mine.

And yet, at the same time, may I never stop 'exhorting, encouraging, and imploring' each Jesus-follower that You place in my path that they absolutely can "walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls" us.

For Abba, Your grace is beyond measure. Why? Because You never conscript us into service. You never require that we give away all that you have blessed us with...no...but freely I surrender my time...my gifts...and my stuff...because of where you do call me: Your own Kingdom and glory.

These are gifts I cannot repay. My life remains as the only offering that I can lay on the altar of sacrifice. If by my life or my death I can help someone catch just a whisper of the precious Kingdom and glory to which you call each of us...then may it be so.

The family of God.

I remember singing about it as a child. And this week, You've begun prying open my heart to understand. As others have for me, may I nurture and feed as a mother would her own...and like a father, may I radically inspire and call out in others the beauty and grace of the Light in which You want us to sojourn together.

Amen.

Smelling Like Sheep

God's Spirit is always growing us, right? Molding, shaping, and refining us into the person He originally created us to become. I love that about Him. He loves me so much that He will not stop until I have fulfilled the purpose He has created particularly for me and me alone. (see Philippians 1:6)

In this process, I get what I call whispers and glimmers of where He's taking me and how He's going to accomplish His work in me. This is one of those seasons on my Journey where I've been intersecting with Scripture, books and sermons that are prompting me...okay sweeping me...toward His delight for me. 

As I've been memorizing 1 Thessalonians, I was especially struck by this verse: Having so fond an affection for you that we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. (I Thess. 2:8) 

This is what I see fleshed-out in places like the Kensington neighborhood of  Philadelphia where The Simple Way lives, loves and worships. It's what I hear happening in my daughter as she serves with Mission Year in Houston, Texas. It's the humbling I sense when I engage with people who are being transformed through their service with Tent Day or the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky. I want to know that passion, love and purpose in my life too, don't you? No wonder this verse in 1 Thessalonians hit me in just the right way.

But I'm also reading a book that is the "guideline" for the ministry of Pope Francis. I'm not Catholic, so I don't know what may be a better description of this dissertation, but I'm reading it as part of the Blogging for Books program and I can only digest a few paragraphs at a time. Once again, God's Spirit used the perfect phrase to describe what I'm feeling. My whole life I've heard the biblical comparisons to how Jesus is our "Good Shepherd". A Shepherd lays down his life for His sheep, He will leave 99 behind to hunt down the one that is lost. What Pope Francis reminded me though, is that shepherds smell like their sheep.

I have to enter into the lives of those I'm serving. I cannot be set apart and removed either physically, emotionally, spiritually or in any way. One of my absolutely favorite verses from The Message translation of the Bible is this:  The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. (John 1:14)

What does that mean for me? What does that mean for you?

I know it will look different and manifest uniquely in each of us. For some, it means moving into impoverished and abandoned neighborhoods so we can live, love, worship and develop "Beloved Community" with those who are marginalized in our culture. For others, it will awaken us to the spiritual poverty that is all around us, no matter how affluent our neighbors are. 

The point is, if God's Spirit dwells in me, then God has already "moved into the neighborhood". I think it's time that I started to smell like some sheep.

Entrusted

"Why O Lord, do You trust us with the responsibility of furthering Your Kingdom???"

I wish I had a dollar for every time this question has crossed my mind. I know I am faithless, flawed, frail of spirit and often forlorn at all the nastiness I see around me...from myself! Why would the Creator of the Universe, who possesses all knowledge, wisdom, and creativity use a ragtag bunch of followers to enlarge His territory? You'd think He, being able to see us for who we really are, would rethink this plan.

Yet, here it is:

"...but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel..." (I Thessalonians 2:4a)

In black and white, with ink on parchment, Paul, Silas and Timothy confirmed what we know in our hearts to be true...this is the only Plan. There is no Plan B. God in His infinite wisdom chose to give us the privilege and responsibility to take His Love, mission, grace and care for one another out into the world all around us.

Were Paul and his cohorts trustworthy in their mission? "For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit..." (I Thessalonians 2:3) Apparently so. Can we be entrusted too? I think so. But there's a little key in the second part of that fourth verse that is our "insurance" against missteps. Not that we'll ever get it perfect and without fault, but it provides a guiding light for how I can begin to trust myself.

"...but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts." (I Thessalonians 4, emphasis mine)

If you know me, I may not seem like a people pleaser, on the surface, but I am. I don't like confrontation any more than the next person. I would greatly enjoy a steady stream of peace, joy and love surrounding me. Calm waves are pleasant waves, right? But this last summer as the Holy Spirit began uncovering my idols one by one...at the top of the list was people pleasing and it had to be told "Be Gone!" (see Isaiah 30:20-22)

Don't misunderstand me...I am not looking for confrontation, but avoiding it cannot be my impetus for operating in God's Kingdom. My actions, words, and thoughts will be examined by God, so my "measuring stick" comes from Him...not man.

Sigh! If I could always operate out of a heart that seeks to please Him alone, and when the doubts assail or I'm labelled a radical (hippie, as my kids call it) or my life looks entirely different than everyone else around me, isn't the peace found in knowing that my God entrusts and approves?

"No Need to Say Anything"

This fall, I've been participating in Beth Moore's latest Bible study entitled Children of the Day. The study encompasses First and Second Thessalonians. As per usual for a Beth Moore study, it has been insightful, informative, and has at times left me awed and amazed with wonder at the God who loves us in spite of ourselves.

As much as I've enjoyed the study, there as yet hadn't been anything profound for which I would have wanted to write a post. Moore has pretty much covered all of the important stuff and I prefer to only post about elements in scripture that the Holy Spirit has brought to my attention, outside of Moore's commentary. There has been much to learn, but nothing that had simply "Wowed!" me...

until this week.

Moore had once again (as in the study of James), asked the participants if they are so willing, to take a stab at memorizing both books of the Bible. You can see the huge impact the one small book of James has had on my life by the simple fact that on the right side of this blog, the topical index has 38 posts referenced to James. That's almost more than any other book I have listed. The lingering influence James has had upon me is in large part due to the prompting by Beth Moore to memorize it. I learned that memorizing scripture is not only a great mechanism for giving my brain a much needed workout...it truly makes God's Spirit-breathed Word come alive. I've heard Moore talk of her desire to have scripture be "bone deep". That is what the memorization of James did for me.

This is only the first month of my attempt at memorization, so chapter one of 1 Thessalonians is what I've been working on. Right away I found a few verses to claim for Abbey and her team in Houston. Daily believing and speaking these words on their behalf and inserting their names within this passage has helped alleviate the grief of missing her and inspired me to remember that I too am chosen by God (see verse 4).

But two days ago, as I prayed that these words would become "bone deep", there was another verse that leapt off the page and began stewing in my heart and mind. 

"For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything." (I Thessalonians 1:8)

Those five underlined words speak volumes...or should...about how I and my fellow Jesus followers are challenged to live. What if?

What if Paul, Silvanus (aka Silas), and Timothy were writing this letter today to the Hebronites, Burlingtonians, Florencians, and Unionites of Northern Kentuckionus? Could they sincerely write:  'For the word of the Lord has been lived out by you, not only in your hometowns, but also in your state, your nation and your world...every single place your beautiful feet have carried the Good News with you...so effectively that, you know what?...we don't need to say another word.'

Dream with me a minute and picture what that would be like:

• Care and involvement in the lives of the poor, the widow and the distressed
• Visiting the sick, the lonely and the imprisoned
• Anointing for healing of the sick and diseased
• Care and cultivation of God's beautiful creation and good stewardship of its limited resources
• Aiding the stranded traveller, the weary soul and the wounded heart

In other words, putting feet, hands, arms, faces and action onto the Gospel (aka Good News) that Jesus left behind for us to follow. 

My brothers and sisters who call yourselves by the Name that is above every other name...followers of the Son of the One true living God...this is precisely the challenge before us. We have the very Holy Spirit of God living in us begging us to put flesh and feet to His Good News. 

In the back of my mind I've always had this lingering thought, 'What if when I see Jesus, He shows me all of the opportunities I missed, the talents I squandered and the people with whom I didn't share His amazing Love? At the end of my days, I used to think I could hear nothing better than "Well done, good and faithful servant!" I'm not so sure now. 

I think the best response I could hope for is "Child...I have no need to say anything."