So you think you're tough, eh?

Soon I will be making the transition from being a full-time delivery driver to a part-time church staff member. As I said yesterday, I am eager to take hold of this opportunity given me by my church, but I also possess some (I think) healthy fear: it is an awesome thing to minister in and among the flock of God, which he purchased with his own blood, and to stand before both the Almighty and before his people. It is also a difficult thing. Only a fool would think that to wage the good warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil will take little effort, little time, and little suffering.

Because ministry is a difficult thing, then, it is no wonder that the Bible speaks often of the strength needed by the one ministering. We could turn to many places to see this, but the following three references found in First and Second Timothy are my favorite.

1.     1 Timothy 1:12

Here the emphasis is on Christ’s identity: literally, the Lord is “the one who has strengthened” Paul. In the context, the apostle is discussing his appointment to ministry. Not only, then, is Jesus the one who puts a person into ministry, he is also the one who empowers for it.  We learn in this verse, therefore, to see Christ as our strength in ministry.

2.     2 Timothy 2:1

Paul instructs Timothy in this verse to “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” The emphasis is upon Christ as the source of power, in contrast to ourselves, who are weak. Reading on in verse 2 (and indeed in the whole epistle), we see that strength Paul is referring to is strength for Timothy to carry out his ministry. We learn here, then, to seek Christ for our strength.

3.     2 Timothy 4:17

Finally, in this verse Paul reflects upon the fact that Christ met his need for strength at a critical moment in ministry, helping him to persevere when it was most necessary. The emphasis is not so much on Christ’s identity, so much as on the fact that he was faithful to his identity in the given situation. Here, then, we learn to stand in Christ as our strength.