Our Call To Ministry

If you’re a follower of Jesus, there’s never a cause to be bored.

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada. That statement is so very true. I said these very words to Cassie, a young believer who’s been struggling to find God’s purpose in her life. Cassie’s not her real name. I want you to know, though, a few details about her. She’s in her early thirties, has a college degree, a decent job, and she’s hoping one day to marry and have children. Again, that’s her hope. In the meantime, Cassie is pretty much “biding her time,” marking off the days at her job, waiting for God to, well, you know, just kind of do something; waiting for him to move in her life. Her words to me? “Joni, I can’t believe that where I’m at right now is God’s purpose for me. I mean, my job, it’s okay, but, well, there’s got to be something more, something bigger.”

Cassie’s story is not unusual. So many of God’s people, especially young people, are spending their time searching for something more than what they’ve already got. They’re looking for some worthy, noble endeavor to give themselves to. What they don’t realize is, they already have it. Cassie already has it. Almighty God has already called her, and those like her, to be part of the most powerful work of universal transformation in the history well, of the universe. It is the same work for which Christ lived and died. So you know it’s that important. There is nothing we could possibly strive for that’s more worthy. It is Christ’s call; no, I take that back; it is his command. And the purpose is to tell our neighbors, family and friends about salvation in Jesus Christ. It’s a calling that involves things life and death. When Cassie gets to heaven, there will be nothing redemptive about spending most of her time waiting and hoping to get married. I don’t mean to sound blunt; but then again, maybe I do. ’Cause I don’t want Cassie to get to heaven, look back on earth and think, “Man, why didn’t I see it?! Why did I spiritually drag my feet?”

Look, I want my young friend to understand that there is no higher, more noble work than to spread the Good News of Jesus. Paul David Tripp talks about this. He explains why we, as Christians, tend to forget our purpose for living. It starts with our focus. We do not live in this world as pilgrims or as sojourners; no, we live as Christian consumers who try and make our lives as comfortable in this world as we possibly can. He says, “We think of ministry this way: we have our little private lives that belong to us, and we step out of those lives into moments of ministry. But then quickly, after [those moments] are concluded, we step back into our nice lives and get comfortable again. But the fact of the matter is, since we have been bought with the blood of Jesus, our lives do not belong to us anymore. Our lives are really his possession for his use. It means that our life is ministry and that ministry is our life. It means we live, work, relate, play and relax with a ministry mentality, always thinking about how to be part of what God is doing among the people and in the locations where he places us.”

Oh, friend, there’s our purpose, right there. And it means there’s no cause to be bored. We don’t sit around and wait for something more exciting to happen. We look around, find out who needs to know Jesus, and then we get about cultivating that relationship for the high, noble purpose of their salvation. You need prayer about this? Well, we’re ready to serve you at joniradio.org. Let us help you in your calling just like we’re helping Cassie at joniradio.org.

© Joni and Friends

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