ODJ: whose job is it?
October 31, 2010
As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love (v.16).
READ: Ephesians 4:1-16
The story is told about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to do and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody would do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Sound familiar? Sadly, this scenario is lived out in many churches today. Most people in the pews think that the ministry of the church belongs to someone else.
But that isn’t God’s intent. According to Ephesians 4, the works of ministry (contact with the world) and building up of the body of Christ (maintaining the health of the church) belong to all believers in Jesus! It isn’t solely the job of the pastors or the hired staff. The whole congregation is supposed to minister and serve. Anything less than that is a distortion of what God intended the church to be.
“He has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ” (Ephesians 4:7). God has gifted each of us uniquely to make sure that “the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (v.16). In other words, there are no spectators in church. Every person
has a part to play.
With hundreds of millions of Christians in the world today, that makes for hundreds of millions of opportunities for the wonderful, life-changing power of Jesus Christ to be presented to people of all levels and classes of society. Let’s all do our part in the body of Christ today. It’s our job. —Poh Fang Chia
How has God gifted you? How can you use your spirtual gifts in ministry and in the building up of the body of Christ?
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