Authentic Christian Ministry

Every year in the spring, right before the planting of the crops, my father would have my siblings and me walk through the fields, removing any large rocks we spotted.

We rented our fields to a local farmer who would plant and harvest crops twice a year. The equipment he used penetrates the earth to plant the seed, and some of those bigger rocks could be damaging to the equipment. To help limit any damage, we would go out each year and spend a few days walking the fields and removing the larger rocks.

The days would start with us kids loading into the bucket of the tractor for a brief ride to our first field. Then we would unload and spread out, walking down the field, gathering rocks and placing them into the tractor’s bucket.

Despite how meticulous we were in combing through the fields, there was no way we could possibly remove them all. On top of that, my father would never reveal to us how long we would be doing this task.

It is with this memory that I relate to the task given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28:19, 20, also known as the Great Commission:

“ ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”

This verse is a simple call to action from Jesus—to go and bring people to Him. It seems easy enough. Yet no matter how simple a task is, such as picking up rocks from a field and placing them into the bucket of a tractor, it can very easily become complicated and overwhelming. With just one day of picking up rocks, it’s easy to tell yourself you’re an architect discovering fossils and treasures or uncovering untold mysteries. But picking up rocks for the unforeseeable future starts to feel like you’re an indentured servant trying to pay back your immeasurable debt.

There were many times I would look back and do a double take at what appeared to be a large rock I had missed, only to realize it was just a big clump of dirt. Sometimes I would pause and question if I should remove a rock because I was unsure if it was large enough to damage the machinery. Instead of simply removing the rock just in case, I would waste time pondering. Other times I wanted to give up because the dirt and rocks started to look the same, making it difficult to distinguish which ones I should be picking up.

While I truly believe that doing the work Jesus has called us to do is a source of joy, at times the task can become difficult.

The Task at Hand

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 God describes to His people how to raise and train their children to be followers of Him. In 2 Corinthians Paul echoes similar principles when he speaks to the people of Corinth about fulfilling the Great Commission.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deut. 6:4-9).

The process starts with loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and strength. By loving Him, our lives are changed. It is this new life that bears witness to our children and others, leading them to love Him too.

Perhaps we err on the side of caution too often and censor Jesus right out of our lives, to the point where people know we go to church on Sabbath and make certain lifestyle choices—but that’s it.

It is when we truly allow Christ into all aspects of our life that we are authentic Christians. By doing so, we become a ministry to others. This is what it means to live a life of authentic Christian ministry.

So why and how does something so simple begin to feel so complicated and overwhelming?

Censored Authenticity

So often we are scared to live an authentic life. We become so concerned that we might say the wrong thing or make others feel uncomfortable that we begin to censor ourselves. Perhaps we err on the side of caution too often and censor Jesus right out of our lives, to the point where people know we go to church on Sabbath and make certain lifestyle choices—but that’s it.

How do we live authentically if we guard our words so closely? How do we live authentically if we are worried about “crossing a boundary”?

It is difficult to live an authentic life of ministry when we are constantly analyzing and micromanaging our lives and decisions. Yet sometimes the “right” words or the “right” actions are not what God asks us to say or do.

We live within our own perspectives and need to recognize that we are not all-knowing or all-seeing. That is Christ. He is omnipresent and omniscient. We can do all the research and still need to ask God for wisdom. We don’t need to stress over winning souls, because that is the natural response to loving God and allowing Him to take over our lives. The Holy Spirit works through our lives to connect with and convict those around us.

Joy in Christ

As I said before, the task at hand starts with us and our relationship with God. It is when we are right with Him that we can best fulfill the Great Commission. The Sabbath School lesson asks this wonderful question: “Think about what Christ has done for you. Think about the guilt, the sin, the condemnation that would be yours. . . . How should this reality impact how you relate to others, especially those who don’t know the Lord?”

As Christians, we can’t help letting all areas of our life be impacted by the power of Christ and the price He paid on the cross. He lived, died, and rose for our sins, and because of this we have salvation and the promise of eternity with Him.

Those who don’t know Christ may not think about sin in the same way, the way that separates them from God. But they do experience guilt and condemnation, even if they may interpret these emotions differently.

Guilt can be the thing that eats at your mind throughout the day. It shows up in your thoughts, in your dreams, and maybe even distracts you from truly engaging in present conversations. Condemnation feeds into our need for external validation. It reinforces those feelings of guilt by assigning us blame.

We feel guilty when we make mistakes at work or miss a scheduled call or event we promised to join. All these things are not necessarily sins, but they are things we view as mistakes, shortcomings. We feel condemned because these are signs that we are not doing enough, leading to feelings of not being enough.

One of the greatest gifts we have as followers of Christ is the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). Our burdens are more manageable because we have access to the strength and wisdom of our heavenly Father (James 1:5, 6). Decisions need not to be feared, becauseHe provides discernment. All the stressors we experience throughout the day are no longer a weight we carry alone.

This is the message we should share with others—that we don’t have to do it alone, that we don’t have to be burdened by guilt or condemnation. Christ is our solution.

Starting here, we can share God as a solution to earthly problems. What a joy it is to have Christ in our lives—and what an even greater joy it is to share Him with others so they can access the same infinite source!

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor. 4:7-10).

Boast in Jesus Christ

Let’s live for Christ and share all His goodness with those around us. Just like the never-ending rocks in the field, there is an insurmountable number of people who need to hear the truth. Even though the task is daunting and seems unending, it is one that should bring joy. We should boast in Christ and the work He is doing in all of us.