WordJourney

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Sometimes a Bible verse will stand out from the included text, a snippet of God’s word to mull over. I realize that there can be a problem with pulling verses out of context, but if you remember the context from which it was pulled, then I see no problem with this practice.

Chapter 6 of 2 Corinthians serves to convey several points including:

• We are workers together with Him.

• Now is the day of salvation.

• We are ministers of God.

• Believers are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

All four points are very important, but the first one is the perhaps the most amazing of all — God, the creator of the universe, uses fleshly man to relay His gospel message. Yes, our God has entrusted the work of bringing people to Him through the lives of those who follow Him. Imperfect, flawed, and mistake-prone people are God’s chosen vessels — an awesome responsibility that has been delegated to us.

Thankfully, God hasn’t left us without clear instructions on how to reach people for Him, otherwise this “campaign” would be a disaster. Church history is replete with examples of religious leaders ignoring, changing, or forgetting this edict, but that hasn’t negated God from getting the work done.

As followers of Jesus Christ we have some powerful “tools” at our disposal:

• The Holy Spirit

• The Bible

If we’re filled with His Spirit and we direct people to His word, then God will touch others as we rely upon Him. I’m not one for making up formulas, but I know that if we pray for the Spirit’s guidance and we stand upon the written word, then our words will be accepted by willing ears.

As a believer, the pressure is off of me other than to pray and to tell. God convicts the sinner — I’m not to force a conversion (which will probably be false) nor am I to rely on techniques — we know that in Acts that God adds to the church daily.

The final point — not being unequaled yoke is very important. Our kingdom work can be hindered if we’re married to someone who doesn’t believe, attend a fellowship not based on God’s word, or involve ourselves in anything that takes away from our relationship with God.

It is good for me to know that although I am not a perfect person, that Almighty God still desires to use me for His glory.

He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. (WEB)

I heard a terrific sermon this past Sunday. Not that every sermon isn’t inspiring, but this one most definitely had my name on it. Or, it had special meaning for me.

Verses 15 through 18 were discussed in the first chapter of Colossians, but it was the last verse that stood above the rest. You see, Jesus Christ does have a prominent place in my life, but as the verse clearly states, that position isn’t good enough: He must be preeminent.

Is there a difference? Most certainly. We all have things that are prominent in our lives, stuff that we consider to be more important than other things. A hobby; our jobs; our relationships with a spouse, children, parents, siblings, etc. can all have significance for us. Even God can be important, but being important doesn’t mean that He has first place.

Allowing Jesus to have preeminence in our lives means that everything that we do or say flows from Him. He isn’t one among many - He is our everything. Just as God will not share His glory with another, He will not allow us to settle for allowing Him to simply be prominent in our lives. Prominence may sound important, but it means that His place in our lives is being shared with something else.

In my youthful days as a Christian, such a revelation would have thrown me into despair, causing me to excessively examine my plight and beg God (repeatedly) to forgive me. Today, I heed the Spirit’s correction and immediately respond by repenting and receiving His forgiveness.

It doesn’t matter what thing or event was in the way for, “we are all like sheep and have gone astray.” The Good Shepherd is faithful to restore us when we slip or when we allow anything else to supplant His rightful place on the throne of our hearts.

Think about it: Is Jesus prominent in your life or is He preeminent?