Don't Give Up

Anyone who ministers to others will at some point get discouraged. It will seem (and probably be true) that those people aren't listening, aren't following advice, aren't trying, aren't changing, and certainly aren't maturing fast enough. Doubtless many of them are taking one step back for every two steps forward. It is frustrating and discouraging to put sacrificial effort into any endeavor without seeing results - perhaps more so when one realizes the eternal significance of the endeavor. In light of the possibility for discouragement, consider this verse:

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9).

We do not know when the harvest will come, but we know that it will come. Prayer, God's Word, and the Holy Spirit will do their work. As we continually allow God to use us as part of those efforts, we will see a harvest. We might not see fruit in every single endeavor. Some plants will be choked by thorns, will wither and die, or will have a delayed harvest, but some will bear fruit. Therefore, the minister of God cannot lose heart. He cannot give up. Eventually there will be fruit as God blesses faithful labor.

It does matter what we do with our lives and how we invest our energies, because the type of harvest reaped will reflect the nature of our labors. Spiritually intentioned and spiritually relevant labor will yield spiritual fruit. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7-8).

It matters how much we labor. Those who labor little will understandably harvest little, but those who labor abundantly will harvest in proportion. There are servants of God who pour their lives into God's work (whether vocationally or less formally), and they will have a resulting harvest by the gracious hand of God. "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure - pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return" (Luke 6:38).

Because of the promise of spiritual reward for spiritual labor, we ought to take advantage of opportunities to minister to others. This is particularly true of our ministry to fellow believers, but definitely extends to the unsaved also. "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith" (Galatians 6:10).

Effective ministry to others is possible through a single motivating factor: love. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34). I Corinthians 13:1-3 reveals that even the most noble and sacrificial ministry, if it is devoid of love, is worthless and meaningless. Service based in love, however, is quite effective.

Love is the correct motivation for service to the unsaved as well. In the context of reaching the lost, we read, "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died" (II Corinthians 5:14). When we understand that all men are condemned and spiritually dead, love prompts us to share the truth.

We are incapable of ministering effectively without love, and we are capable of love only because we have already experienced the love of God. "We love, because He first loved us" (I John 4:19). Without God's love, we would not know what love looks like. Without receiving from His stores of love, we would have no love to offer to others. Because God loves us, however, we are able to show His love to those around us.

In this Christmas season, we are particularly reminded of God's love. God expressed His love with the greatest gift ever, sending His only Son, His holy Son, to live on a sin-cursed earth, to serve selflessly, to suffer incredibly, and to die cruelly just so that sinners can be reconciled to Him. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). When we realize and remember the intense love of God for us, we ought to be motivated to show a measure of that love to others.

Mom, are your young children unruly and hard to manage? Dad, does your grown child resist all encouragement to return to God? Grandparent, are you burdened by the inclinations you see in your grandchildren? Sunday school teacher, do the children seem more interested in playing than in listening? Church worker, does that unsaved person argue with the gospel? Christian school teacher, is this year's class one of the most challenging you've ever seen? Pastor, does that infant Christian seem hopelessly mired in the world? Pastor's wife, does the one you are counseling ignore your advice? Don't give up. God does not call on us to produce the harvest; He simply asks us to labor faithfully. Paul said, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth" (I Corinthians 3:6). Trust Him to do what He says.

Keep correcting, keep encouraging, keep guiding, keep teaching, keep sharing God's truth, keep extending yourself, keep reminding, and keep counseling. Determine to be faithful, planting and watering for another year and for as long as God gives opportunity. Be faithful, and then watch God give the harvest in His time. Share the Word, live the example, encourage the needy, and pray, pray, pray.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (I Corinthians 15:58).