MIXED BLESSINGS

                The rains have come early to southern Minnesota this year. In many ways, this is a blessing. This could all be snow, and we could be doing quite a bit of shoveling. The rain brings the hope of an early spring season. It also prepares the ground for spring planting. With the rain comes a spirit of optimism.

                But there is another side to this blessing. Spring rains are messy. As the ground thaws, it becomes soft and mushy. Solid ground is replaced by mud. The early rains also tempt people to get out in the garden or the yard too soon. They falsely assume that it is time to start all of the spring outdoor activities. Yet, alas, it is only an illusion. The temperatures will fall below freezing again. The ground is not yet warm enough to germinate seeds. The ground is really too soft to be mowing the emerging, green grass.

                These early rains remind me of the messiness of  ministry. Ministry is fostered by optimism, enthusiasm, and the promise of good things to come. But before we see the harvest, we have to deal with the messiness. Ministry gets us excited and then tests our patience. Ministry plans look great on paper, but are far more difficult in application. Ministry fills us with the hope of a goal accomplished, then faces us with the sometimes frustrating task of getting there. Bottom line, ministry is messy. We have to deal with the mud, before we can rejoice in the harvest.

                Ministry is cooperating with God to accomplish His goals. When we forget that, we open ourselves up for much frustration. The church at Corinth lost sight of that and needed to be brought back on course. Look at what Paul wrote to them.

    Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly--mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

    What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 1 Cor. 3:1-9

                Genuine ministry is a team effort. It takes cooperation with others who have different gifts and talents then we do. That alone can sometimes cause frustration. It also takes a huge amount of humility. Ministry requires that I set aside my personal ambitions and agenda to accomplish God’s purposes.

                But, ministry also takes an extreme amount of patience. We tend to be an impatient people. If we do not see results almost immediately, we are ready to scrap the plan and try something else. If farmers took that approach, we would never eat. Ministry is about planting spiritual seeds, watering them, cultivating them, and giving them time to grow. When we get impatient, we hinder the growth that God is orchestrating. Paul challenged the Galatian believers to not get frustrated and give up.

    Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9-10

                Finally, we need to remember that we are all works in process. Like the Pharisees, we can fall into the trap of expecting everyone to be at the same level of spiritual maturity that we are. That is an utterly false perspective. Spiritual maturity takes time. Along the way, people are going to make mistakes, sometimes pretty messy mistakes. Instead of getting angry or frustrated, we need to be ready to help clean up the mess and help people move forward. We need to constantly be reminded that it took time and effort to get us to the place where we are, and that we all still have a long way to go. As Paul reminded the Corinthians, we were not all that great when we started our spiritual journey.

    Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1:26-31

                The rains have come, and with them the mud. But very soon, the ground will firm up, the plants and trees will turn green, and in due time the harvest will come. In the midst of doing ministry, it often feels like there is more mud than solid ground. But in due time, the harvest will come, if we faithfully persevere.

Philippians 1:3-6

    I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.