Ephesians 1:1


Ephesians starts with these words, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (Eph 1:1). That is a phrase that we often slide by without too much thought, but it is significant. Paul would never have chosen to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. He was opposed to Jesus and to the church. He had given his life to the destruction of the new Jewish cult called The Way that claimed Jesus had risen from the dead. He gave his life to its destruction until he came face to face with the risen Lord. He was an apostle by God’s will, not by his own will.

That is as ministry should be. We do not choose a ministry because it is easy, nor because it will help us feel important. We do not choose a ministry because the financial rewards are great or it meets some emotional need we have. We enter a ministry because of God’s call. Some say, “I haven’t heard God call.” Yes you have. If you have read the Bible you have heard his call. He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). He said, “Let the little children come to me” (Mt 19:14). He said, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (Lk 3:11). There is more than enough call to ministry in the Scriptures to go around. We simply need to take God’s word seriously.

What we cannot afford to do is put self first. Yesterday I responded to a Facebook post suggesting that modern Christian music is dangerous. Here is my response:
I think this is a simplistic response to a real problem. Some of the "old" hymns were pretty shallow and some of the contemporary music has great theology. Interestingly most of our old hymns are no more than 150 years old in a 2000 year old church. There has always been the danger of self-focus in worship. When we make experience more important than God we miss the boat. Don't blame the music. That's not the real danger. Self is.
Self is the real problem, and that is true not only of music, but of ministry in general. When we enter ministry to feel better about ourselves we miss the point. Ministry, by its very definition and nature, is about others. The word means service. The Health and Wealth theology that has infiltrated the church has placed the emphasis on self. Unfortunately even some of the most fundamental evangelical believers who criticize that movement have still placed self above service. Paul did not become an apostle to feel good about himself. He became an apostle because God called him to it. That same God has called us to service. Will you heed his call?

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