Jesus never praised apathy. He told his disciples how “to become great.” Want to be great? Then pray to be great. Strive to be great. But know that being great as Christ intends is different.
Without Authority
Christ announced the kingdom of God with miracles. The mother of James and John might have been disappointed to hear he had no authority to grant who would be beside him. His life on earth defined what it means to serve the purposes of God, even to giving “his life as a ransom for many.” After all, what “cup” were James and John expecting to drink to be close to Christ? To be close to him may be at the very heart of the battle of good over evil.
Without Shame
When I was 10, Dad left a ministry where he was well-liked and moved us to Tucson, Arizona to start Pantano Christian Church. As the church began, he provided for us by working various jobs. We had one car, so Mom often took my sister and me with her to pick him up from work. We followed her into a high-class women’s shoe boutique. My face flushed to see Dad willingly kneeling and fitting wealthy women with shoes. More and more I learned how readily he served to draw people to Christ and his church.
More than a decade later, Pantano’s elders met with me to prepare to ordain me into Christian ministry. Ray dryly advised, “Just do like your father. Don’t be ashamed to get your hands dirty.”
Nearly three decades later, my folks stayed in our home when Boise Bible College conferred an honorary doctoral degree on Dad for his service in training people for ministry. Dad noticed I had not found time to repaint our house trim, but he had only brought dress shoes with him on the trip. When I came home from church the next day I found him on a ladder painting with shopping bags wrapped around his shoes. |L
Gary D. Anderson is minister of Capitol City Christian Church in Boise, Idaho. He and his wife Joyce served Christ in Hong Kong for 18 years.
