Humanity in ministry

Over the last 18 months as I transitioned into a new context, God has used this time to deepen my dependence on Him and expand my understanding of Him in my life. Having learnt from and heard the experiences of many missionaries, they have often shared about the necessity of resilience in ministry. 

This is characterised as the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, ensuring a fruitful and thriving ministry. However, to develop resilience, we need a degree of self-awareness during times of being “pressed, we are not crushed.” (2 Cor 4:8)

John Calvin stated, “Without knowledge of self, there is no knowledge of God.”

This quote by Calvin recognises that the intersection of understanding our nature leads us to an understanding of God, and he continues that in the reciprocation of knowing God directs our understanding of self. As we reflect on our limitations and place in creation, we develop a deeper understanding of God, which leads us to a greater dependence on our relationship with our Creator.

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul shares about the humanity in ministry, likening us to “jars of clay” and the treasure of the gospel that resides in us. In verse 7, this imagery depicts a state of weakness in our fragility to contrast this with the surpassing power that belongs to God, whereby his ministry may bring focus to God’s glory.

Our struggles will be real in every way in verse 8, through ‘affliction…, perplexity…, persecution…, and struck down’, and this is normal in every life that will test us in the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual. A grounded biblical view of suffering is needed (1 Corinthians 1), as during this time, God has allowed suffering in our lives for our good, as the means of our transformation and for our salvation. God can use us only when we “die to self,” and as a result, we can bear fruit, and the marks of Jesus’ life will be manifested through us.

We are encouraged to persevere and “not lose heart,” as our outer self is wasting, but our spirit is being renewed, to call to remembrance our temporal nature on earth. Because of our “light afflictions” (2 Cor 12:10), our present troubles are short-lived in comparison to the lasting glory that outweighs them, and the unseen will last forever.

The encouragement is that our humanity brings us closer to God as we are inadequate in ourselves for his ministry, as Paul points out in 2 Corinthians 2:16. Who is sufficient for these things?  All Gospel work is entirely His ministry, and by His enabling I am privileged to share a part in it. 

On a personal note, I am only beginning my overseas ministry, and it has brought challenges such as adapting, leaving home, and fatigue from continual learning, and these are minor compared to the experiences of Paul. Nevertheless, I find encouragement in the fact that it is through our difficulties and struggles, as Paul shares, “in our weakness he is made strong,” allowing him to boast in his weakness and to experience the sufficiency of God’s grace (1 Corinthians 12:9, 2 Corinthians 12:10).

I am realising more and more that all that we will do will reflect an enduring view of ministry that Paul advocates—namely, to see

God’s grace reaches more and more people, and God will receive more and more glory” (1 Corinthians 4:15).

In final thoughts, in our own lives knowing God more through our human nature draws us to appreciate our salvation and depend on his strength more each day.