Mixture

 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. I Corinthians 3:12-13....."My service will not be judged by what I have done, but by how much of me there is in it." A.W. Tozer

Daniel Webster said that the great sobering reality of his life was that one day he would stand before God and give an account for how he had lived his life before Him. In our current self-centered culture, I wonder how deeply we share that sense? Do we understand that not only our lives, but our ministries, our service to and for Him, is going to be judged, and the standard will not be about the amount that we did, or even the outward success of it. It will come down to how much of it was motivated by "self," wood and stubble, and how much was centered on and empowered by Him, silver and gold.

The western church has been heavily invaded by the western mindset and value system. The "ladder of success" is climbed by those in Christian service just as eagerly as those in the secular realm. And the church, regardless of what it may state to the contrary, has consciously or not, contributed heavily to reinforcing that culture. The pressure to increase may be greater than ever for the pastor or Christian minister. The church in the west, particularly in America, is not growing, and much of what we call "growth" is nothing more than people exchanging their seat in one fellowship for a seat in another just down the road. Every worker, and especially every pastor, when first undertaking a new work, feels the pressure to produce results. This pressure can cause them to use every means possible to do so. Wanting to succeed is human, but the seduction of success can become so strong that we cease to be yielded to His leading and empowering and seek to build on a foundation we create rather than on the foundation of Jesus Christ. It's a seductive path, and I've seen many go down it. I've gone down it myself. We throw ourselves into growing the church, bringing more people in, expanding our ministries, increasing finances. These are not bad things, but the means and motives behind them can be. Pastors and leaders can begin to see people as objects to be used to reach their goals, rather than souls cherished and loved by God, and entrusted to them for their spiritual well being and growth. They're there to help us get to where we want to be. The self-life, not Christ-life, drives what we do. Regardless of what the outward result may be, we've produced wood and stubble, not silver and gold. There is much good in what we've done, and there is also much of us in it. Too much. We've produced a mixture. A bit of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and a great deal of us. God doesn't share His glory.

In all of this, we have to realize the great difference between what He calls success and what our ideas of it are. Someone defined success as doing the best you can, with what you have, where you are. Faithfulness. This will also produce fruitfulness. It may result in an increase in all those things mentioned above, but it may not. It's God who gives the increase, not us. In His eyes, I believe He values the increase of His life within the hearts and lives of His people over and above the increase in numbers, monies, and buildings. Pastors and leaders may have accomplished much outwardly, but the lives entrusted to them have never grown in any real way. They continue to struggle with the same sins and addictions. Their faith is shallow, their witness weak. They are not overcomers. Which do we think blesses the heart of God more, a pastor whose ministry has yielded 50 lives whose life testimony brings Him glory, or one who can count a multitude each week, but who step out into their world each week and make little or no impact at all? When we stand before Him, what will be of wood and stubble, and what will be of silver and gold?

None of what I write comes from a smug, superior spirit. I may have been more guilty than all concerning what I speak of. I wanted the success, the applause, and the positions. I wanted to do it for Him, and I wanted to see people added on to the Kingdom, but I wanted to expand my kingdom as well. He withheld all that from me. Perhaps He couldn't, wouldn't trust me with it. In my frustrations with it all, He did bring me to a place of surrendering all that and just seeking to be faithful, doing my best, where I was, with what I had. Seeking to bring to spiritual maturity to those He'd entrusted to me, regardless of the number that those comprised. Finally, I became content in the place of ministry He'd given me, while also saddened by the wasted years of trying to climb that ladder.

I know I'll give an account one day. I can only hope that there is more gold and silver to my ministry than wood and stubble, but there will be wood and stubble. Whatever years of ministry are left to me, I pray they produce silver and gold. May all who are His servants produce the same. May we each hear on that day, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" That is my great heart's desire. May it be yours as well.

Blessings,

Pastor O