Responding to Hardship

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
2 Corinthians 6 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything. (2 Corinthians 6:3-10, NIV)


MUSINGS:
These particular verses ought to be required reading for anyone entering “full time ministry.” That’s the curious phrase often used to distinguish the clergy from the laity. While it is definitely true that God has called certain persons to serve the church and his kingdom as their “job,” making their living as ministers of the gospel, we have all been called as ministers in our own way.

So even though most of us are not going to become full-time pastors or missionaries or ministry leaders, we should all take note of Paul’s testimony of his ministry among the Corinthian church. What should we expect ministry to be like? How much should we put up with as we strive to serve the Lord? How hard should it really be?

Paul speaks of troubles, hardships and distresses; beatings, imprisonments and riots; hard work, sleepless nights and hunger. Quite the job description for ministry in the first century! And we thought that teaching children’s church once a month was a sacrifice or that sponsoring a youth trip was especially hard!

My son Jordan was privileged to work at Brackenridge hospital this summer as an anesthesiologist tech assistant. This was real grunt work where Jordan was able to see the hard work and long hours that go on behind the scenes of the crisis situations he may encounter one day. His goal is to be an anesthesiologist and serve in under-resourced areas both in the US and abroad. I am grateful for his summer experience, so he could get a close up view of what the job is really like… so he can replace the rose colored glasses about being a doctor with the real-life truth of what it actually involves.

In the same way, it would help us if we could somehow go back in time and intern with the Apostle Paul for a summer as a ministry assistant. Man, would our expectations of church and ministry change! People sometimes talk in glowing terms of life in the New Testament church, but it was hard, challenging, and dangerous back then; full of in-fighting, division, controversy, and persecution. Yet people act surprised when ministry involvement or church life is actually difficult in our day. 

So, what can we learn from this poignant section of scripture? How did Paul respond to the hardships? With purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left. Wow, this is so challenging and encouraging at the same time! May God give us the same grace and maturity whenever we face difficult situations in our service of the Lord or in the fellowship of the body of Christ. Let’s use these verses as the measure of our response. 

As we are privileged to serve alongside one another in the body of Christ, we inevitably bump into each other and endure the rigors of living out the kingdom of God in the midst of this broken world full of broken people. There’s no getting around it. Just like marriage and family life is hard, church and ministry is just as challenging. And just like family is worth fighting for (with weapons of righteousness, not destruction!), Paul modeled for us that ministry in the body of Christ is worth our best efforts.

Let me paraphrase that last section of these focal verses… make this your declaration. Whether we receive glory or dishonor, bad report or good report; whether people regard us as genuine Christ-followers or impostors; whether we are well known or serve in the background; even if it appears to others that we are dying, we live on; even if we are beaten down, the life of Christ is still in us; even in our sorrow, we rejoice; even though we give our money and lives away, we know that we are making many rich; though we have nothing that the world values, we possess everything that truly makes life matter.


THINGS TO PONDER:
Just like many people can enter a job or marriage or profession with unrealistic expectations, do you have any unrealistic expectations of ministry? Have you been surprised by the hardships and challenges of a life serving the Lord?

The vast majority of people that I went to seminary with are no longer serving in ministry. Though our professors tried to warn of the challenges ahead, it’s hard to prepare for all of the difficulties. The same sometimes happens with lay people who get involved in church and ministry. They are surprised at the hardships, and many just drop out altogether. Remember that our work to promote the kingdom of God does not go unopposed. We have an enemy (plus we are just plain sinful and broken). There will be challenges and hardships to overcome. May God give us the grace to endure as we serve as the body of Christ in the world.


WHO AM I?
This is a picture from the championship game of the 35+ men’s baseball league in Austin. (Not a flattering pic, I know… it was a rough inning!) We lost the deciding game, but it was still a blast playing at the Dell Diamond. To play somewhat high quality baseball in your forties requires a certain level of hard work and dedication, especially as I get older. I think it is instructive that the New Testament often equates serving Jesus with being a soldier or an athlete. Dedication, commitment, and sacrifice are required. No way around it if you plan to stay in the game and fight the good fight.