MUTUAL FAITH … MUTUAL MINISTRY

ROMANS 1:8–10

God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times

(Romans 1:9–10).

I remember when the pastor of a local Episcopalian church in Ligonier Valley, Pennsylvania had gone into the hospital for extensive heart surgery—five bypasses. The night before his surgery the people of his parish held a service of intercession for him which I was privileged to attend. The service was very well-attended, and after the service, I commented on this to the pastor who was leading the meeting. I’ll never forget his reply: “When these people pray for their pastor, it is not merely a prayer of duty. It is a prayer of love.”

The heart of the Apostle Paul

That’s the way Paul prayed for the Christians who were on the firing line in Rome. Reports of Paul’s great work had surely filtered back to the Imperial City. These people, who would later be human torches in the Caesars’ gardens and who would be food for the lions and sport for the gladiators, were already suffering the hostility of this great city. Humanly speaking, I’m sure some of them were feeling that the great apostle simply didn’t care. Was he afraid of what he might suffer if he came to Rome? Paul puts himself in their shoes and assures them of his love—and his prayers.

The way the church functions

That’s the style of the Apostle Paul. He was brilliant, strong, heroic, and the church’s most gifted theologian. But in a very real sense his most conspicuous characteristic was his pastoral heart. When he was placed in a powerful position within the early church and exalted as the Apostle to the Gentiles, he kept his gifts in perspective and realized that the gifts he had been given were not for his own benefit, but were for the benefit of the entire church. With humility, he expresses to the rank and file of the church at Rome that he longs to come to them not only that he may minister to them, but that he may be ministered to: “that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (1:12). That’s the way the church is to function.

CORAM DEO

Sometimes a minister is so concerned with his responsibilities that his own soul becomes dry and filled with pain. Paul recognized that and was very open about it. Are you ministering to your minister? Are you comforting the one who brings you comfort?

tuesday

february