How Good!
Dan Kunz
Because I run our family’s charitable foundation, I have the opportunity to interact with a lot of people from a lot of different ministries. Since I’ve been doing so for over twenty-five years, I know hundreds of CEO’s, development directors, and operations workers. Almost all of them are dedicated, energetic, Jesus-people. They realize that God’s command to love him and love their fellow man, is the most important thing they do. Because of my “network”, I can many times connect some of these ministry partners for the betterment of multiple ministries, and ultimately, the benefit of God’s kingdom. It’s a gratifying feeling to see God’s people working together in love and unity!
Think of your own local congregation. Any time a major need or project arises, people generally tend to “grab the rope” and all pull together in the same direction. Of course, Satan hates that and generally does everything he can to sow seeds of dissention among the ranks. It takes strong leadership and a rock-solid focus on the end goal to keep things moving in the right direction. When that happens, few things in life are as satisfying. If you’re the leader, keep reminding everyone of the end result. If you’re one of the “worker bees”, remind yourself (and others, if necessary) of the joys found in working together in unity. It’s a good thing! Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!
It sounds relatively simple, but it’s usually not. People, even God’s people, have egos and pride and all sorts of reasons their way is the “best” one. When those things are overcome and the standard becomes “you first”, the results can be not only gratifying, but glorious! And that’s our real goal all along – glorify God. What it takes is great humility and patience. Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Think about the times in your life when you were part of a group effort which was successful. It might have been as part of an athletic team, or a work project, or a committee of some sort. In addition to the end result, winning a game, finishing a project, or successfully navigating a thorny problem, the deep sense of satisfaction and unity was, in itself, kind of a reward.
Think of Jesus sending out his disciples for the first time. He didn’t send them out as individuals. He sent them out as teams. A teammate can give encouragement. A teammate can point out unseen dangers or problems. A teammate can propose different ideas to accomplish the task. If those things are true of life in general, how much more so when it comes to ministry? Peace and unity aren’t just nice-sounding ideals, they are the results when God’s people work together to benefit God’s kingdom in this life and the life to come! Thank you, Jesus, for being the ultimate teammate and showing what humility and love can accomplish.