Friday, June 23, 2023
Pushing Others Forward
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. (1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT)
When Pastor Chuck Smith was helping our church start our ministry of large-scale evangelistic events, he was willing to take the role of a servant to help it happen.
I remember saying to him, “It’s a great quality that you have always given an opportunity for others to be used by God, and you were willing to stand back and let that happen.” He was always willing to push others forward because his goal was to see God glorified.
Think of what can happen if every Christian were to take that attitude. We should be able to rejoice when God is working in another person’s life.
Yet we may see God bless someone in a tangible way, and we don’t think it’s fair. Maybe God begins to bless and use a certain individual, and we say, “Lord, wait a second. I have faithfully served You all these years. But this Johnny-come-lately pops up, and You’re blessing this person instead of me. It isn’t fair! I’m so much godlier than they are. I’m more committed than they are. And most of all, I’m humbler than they are.”
However, we should rejoice that God is being glorified and that the gospel is being preached.
Speaking about the body of Christ, the church, the apostle Paul wrote, “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:26-27 NLT).
We need to guard against the petty jealousy and rivalry that we can so easily fall into. If God lifts up one of us and blesses us, we should rejoice. It doesn’t have to be you or me. What’s important is that God is the One who’s receiving the glory.
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