Qualifications are important,
aren’t they? You wouldn’t want a person performing surgery on you if they had
never been to medical school, would you? I will never forget the day that I
went to a doctor for the first time in a small Louisiana town. I just happened
to be in the room where he was displaying his diploma. He had received his
medical degree from the School of Agriculture and Mechanics. I was a little
concerned until I found out that was the official name of LSU.
Remember, I mentioned some time
back that Paul had used a series of faithful saying in his writing? Here is the
next one: “If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.”
First, let’s define the term bishop. This was not the office in the Catholic
Church. The word is literally “overseer.” In essence, this man was given the
responsibility to lead the church, to guide it forward in the advancement of
its mission, and to oversee every aspect of its existence. We call this man the
pastor of the church today. Simply put, if a man desires this position, he
desires a good thing.
Paul used two different words for
“desire” in this verse to explain the heart of a pastor’s call. The first means
“to reach out after,” describing external action, not internal motivation. In
other words, he does everything he can to attain this goal. The second word
means “a strong passion,” an inward desire that springs from genuine love and
commitment. Taken together, these two words describe the type of man that
belongs in the ministry: one who outwardly pursues the task of ministry because
he is driven by a strong internal desire. When I was called into the ministry,
my pastor told me that if I could do anything else in life and be happy, then
the ministry wasn’t for me. I will tell you this: he was right. I tried to do
other things, but nothing filled me with satisfaction like doing the work of
the ministry.
It’s good to want to serve in
this capacity. That’s what Paul said. But the man who chooses this path must
meet certain qualifications first. What are those qualifications? Paul said
that they must be obedient in observable behavior. In other words, Christians
and non-Christians should see a certain level of commitment to God and to the
church in his lifestyle. Without that commitment to live for Jesus and for His
people, the pastor will never survive. There are too many internal stressors
and external pressures that will cause him to throw up his hands and find
another line of work if he doesn’t have this passion.
I must admit that I have seen
many godly men do this very thing – give up on the work of ministry. I will
also admit that there have been times when I have been tempted, but through
those times, God has provided renewal and strength as He reminded me of the
calling He has placed on my life. It is a “good work,” but it is not an easy
one. Always remember that truth!
No comments:
Post a Comment