Many of us have at least on occasion had eggs and bacon for breakfast. We realize that the chicken was involved in providing the eggs and that the pig was fully committed to providing the bacon. Involvement is fine in and of itself, but we often find biblical admonitions to be fully committed to the work of the Lord.
Give self first: Begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God (II Corinthians 8:4-5).
Whole is to serve God: The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Deny self – Take up cross: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”( Matthew 16:24).
Christ is our example of doing; For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you (John 13:15).
The only time Jesus our Lord ever used the word “easy” it was attached to a yoke. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30).
We all want things to be easy. We want a life of ease, our tasks to be easy and our requirements simple. But we know that all good things in life come with a price and that price is not always easy to pay.
Even though our Lord said His yoke was easy, it is a yoke none the less. A yoke is a tool used to make sure we have a firm grip on what we are pulling. So, just what is it that we are pulling?
Our needs as a congregation are significant. We need be willing and eager to engage personally and directly in the work of the congregation. The simple admonition is this, find an individual role and fill it.
Let’s all resolve to be committed to being actively involved in the many ministries available to us here at Karns and serve our Lord faithfully.
For the elders, Gregg Woodall