“Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.”- 1 Corinthians 3:8–10
We are not saved just for our own benefit. God freely brings us into His family without any work or effort on our part, but there are no faithful, obedient, yielded Christians who are not doing something for Him. We all have different gifts and abilities. We all have different opportunities and avenues of service. We all have the choice of whether we will be faithful workers in His kingdom.
Charles Spurgeon said, “We greatly err when we dream that only a preacher can minister to the Lord—for Jesus has work of all sorts for all sorts of followers. As there is no idle angel there ought to be no idle Christian. We are not saved for our own sakes, but that we may be of service to the Lord and to his people; let us not miss our calling.”
The way that we should assess our work for God is not whether we are well known or popular or have a very public and noticeable area of ministry. Rather, we should judge our work as He does—by what motivates it. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 3:13). There are no “bonus points” for fame or the applause of men. Instead, God honors those who are faithful to labor for Him no matter what. The ways in which we serve God may change through our lives, but the necessity of serving Him never does. (Daily in the Word)
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
