In a lot of ways, I’m kind of reiterating what I said yesterday, but certain things kind of struck me as I reread the passage today and I wanted to highlight them.
One thing is the privilege that we have to work hand in hand with God. Paul said,
We are God’s fellow workers. (1 Corinthians 3:9)
Think about that for a minute. God doesn’t really need us. He could do everything he wanted to accomplish without us.
But he chooses to use us. And he invites us to join him in his work. I read that and just say, “Wow!”
God doesn’t just save us to sit down and bask in his grace. He wants us to also become an active part of his Kingdom.
And so he stretches out his hand toward us and says, “Won’t you join me in this work? Let’s work together on this.”
The second thing we need to remember though is he doesn’t call us into this work to bring glory to ourselves. Paul said,
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task. (1 Corinthians 3:5)
A servant doesn’t draw attention to himself. For the most part, the best servant is invisible. You barely notice he’s there, and yet all that needs to get done is done. And in the end, he should say humbly,
We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. (Luke 17:10)
Still, though an earthly master might not show any appreciation for his servant and even treat him as a nobody, God again sees us as his fellow workers. And he gets down into the mud with us to do the things he has asked of us.
More without him working in us and through us, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything. For as Paul writes,
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
So where is the room for pride? There is none. Paul tells us,
So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3:7)
One final thing to remember in whatever ministry we’re in is that the people we’re working with are not, “my people.” Rather they are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:9)
Too often, we get wrapped up with marking out our territory in ministry. And if we’ve been doing certain things in the church for a number of years, we mark those duties as our territory, and the people we’re working with as our people.
But the Lord assigns each person their own task, and sometimes those tasks change as he invites other people to join in his work. And he does that for the betterment of his kingdom.
Yet many Christians become upset when Christ calls others into work that “encroaches” on their territory. And they become jealous when they find that others are more skilled or talented than they are.
Let us remember, however, that each person has their part in the body of Christ. Each person has been assigned their task. And as much as we are fellow workers with God, we are also fellow workers with each other.
So let us work with one another, casting aside our jealousy and territorial way of thinking, realizing that it is God’s field, not ours. It is God’s building, not ours.
Most importantly, let us focus on the relationship we have with God.
One of the main reasons he calls us to join him in his work is so that we can spend more time together with him. And as we do, we will find joy.
How do you approach the work God has given you?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 