“This just in, friends – the results aren’t in.”
To the one with an exploding church, trying to build a bigger building, trying to keep up with the requests of all who want to be baptized and counseled. To the one who gets asked to speak at the special events and sit on the boards, invest in the next generation, and share strategy with everyone who doesn’t seem to be succeeding, know this – the results are not in. Where your ministry really stands – nobody 100% knows yet.
To the one who sits before an empty computer screen, trying to think of some bit of success to type into a prayer letter, to the one who doesn’t have any new numbers to share with their friends at the pastor’s conference, to the one who is trying the new things, the golden keys that unlock spiritual and numeric growth, and it’s going over like a brick, you need to know too – the results are not in.
Ministry results in this life can never vindicate or validate you, and praise God, they can never condemn you. I’ll say it about our own ministry, people may think we’re amazing, people may think we are awful. But they don’t really know, because only Jesus does, and His planned moment of truth hasn’t happened yet. But 1st Corinthians 3:12-14 tells us that it is coming. “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – each one’s work will become manifest for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” This concept, that I could spend a lifetime in ministry building with wood and hay and straw, punches me in the gut. This should produce the fear of the Lord. The fear of man, on the other hand, grips us when we think our ministry is going up in smoke here on earth, when unity breaks down, when cold apathy drifts in, when people scatter for the next job, the next best location. But no ministry built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, and built with gold, silver, and precious stones can burn up. No matter what results your ministry produces here on earth, you can build a ministry that lasts for eternity. This should produce joy.
But this all begs the question, “what makes the difference?” What is the difference between a gold ministry and a straw ministry?” There are a lot of themes in the verses that follow 1 Corinthians 3, but let’s settle down with chapter 4 verse 5, “Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each will receive his commendation from God.” The God Who “does not see as man sees,” is going to look past what everyone has seen of our service and sees what was happening in our hearts in every moment. He sees the heart that hurts for suffering people. He sees the heart that breaks for the lost. He sees the heart that longs to nourish others with love and the Word. He also sees the heart that hopes it gets noticed, that longs for a bigger audience, more praise, more glory in the here and now.
All of this, I think, is a back door lesson on prayer. Prayer can be the difference between a gold ministry and a straw ministry. The person who prays is humble. She knows that God is doing and will do far more than she ever will. The person who prays is hungry for a move of God’s Spirit, not a move of her own success. The person who prays longs for the face of God more than just the hand of God.
Nobody here and now knows how much we pray. It’s the great hidden secret between ourselves and the Lord. But empty ministry, not lived out in active, present, fellowship with God will always bear its fruit, if not in this life, in the life to come. This is sobering and convicting to me. I need my heart to bend so that my knees do much more often. I want to wrestle through prayer to the place of pure-hearted service before an audience of One. Jesus promises that “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41) So often I am focused on what next ways God may want me to serve, the big thing that I may be missing, that I don’t focus on Who I’m serving, and Who I’m serving with, and I forfeit the grace that could be mine.
So I need to slow down and turn, to have the faith to see deeper than just what needs to be done, to the place where all of life is an offering. In this place isn’t just future reward – it’s joy – right here, and right now.
