Being a pastor is a tremendous privilege. However, it is not for the faint of heart. Without the grace and strength of God, no man can survive the ministry.
There is something deeply embedded in the American imagination: the idea that the truly free person is the person who belongs to himself.
A generation or two ago, that idea was expressed through the self made man and rugged individualism. “Make your own way. Chart your own course. Don’t depend on anybody.” The old version said, “Nobody tells me what to do.”
Today’s version sounds a little different. Instead of the cowboy, our cultural icon might be the influencer. The cowboy said, “Nobody tells me what to do.” The influencer says, “Nobody tells me what to be.”
You can spot the brute pretty easily. Strength mixed with anger. He works at looking tough, or being tough, as he calls it. A mouth let loose to insult people, and his excuse is that it is the courage of the prophets. He does not want to be a man without a chest, so he beats his chest like a brute to prove he has one.
For a long time now the culture has been at war with manhood. The plain things God built into a man, the drive to lead, to provide, to compete, to stand between danger and the people he loves, got lumped together under one word and called toxic. Strength became a threat to manage. Taking the lead became control waiting to happen. A boy who wanted to win, or to protect, or to be told he had what it takes, was handed a diagnosis when what he needed was a father. What God made and called good was renamed a sickness, and a whole generation of men learned to say sorry for the way God made them.
So, the question "Are you done?" is often asked when someone finishes a project, or when we have accomplished a difficult task. Yet, when it comes to the Christian life, the answer is simple. No, we are not done. Not until the Lord calls us home or Jesus Christ returns in glory. Even though your salvation has been secured. You are never done!! Don’t sit back and just think, I don’t need to do anything because my salvation is secure. We must work until the very end. Dig into God’s Word and find something to do for the Kingdom. Make yourself useful for the gospel. As long as we draw breath, we are to work for the kingdom till the very last breath we have in us.
As a homeschooling family missionary stories were a big part of our life. I wanted my children to read these remarkable stories of these faithful men and women, to experience that jungle, those native people, the food but mostly I wanted them to see how God used ordinary people to do extraordinary things because He called and equipped them. Though their stories we have witnessed miracles and stories of great faith that left you in awe and inspired, and sometimes feeling convicted.
There is something captivating about the stories of those who left behind their home and family, all that was familiar to take the Gospel to places they had never seen but only heard about.