I don't play well with others.
At its core, my desire to be a lone ranger is founded in my
lack of faith in others to follow through with all their might. Also, it is usually faster to just do it
myself than to explain, discuss, ask questions, track down, and schedule
meeting times that don’t conflict with two different households.
As you might expect, this do-it-self tendency doesn’t work
well in marriage. The same goes for
motherhood--it's much easier to just put up the cutlery, pick up the toys, and
set the table myself. Accepting help, involving others means having to
repeat myself, accepting that the task won’t be done as I would do it or on my
timetable, and that I’ll likely need to clean up an extra mess the “help”
created along the way.
Since last summer, I have made a more concerted effort to put
myself out on a limb, partner with other Christians in teaching and in two other
ministry opportunities.
As you might expect, things have not always gone smoothly. But through these real life applications and through
His Word, God has been revealing a truth about building His kingdom:
God could easily build His kingdom without man. He could also empower a single man or woman
with everything needed to go it alone.
Yet, that isn’t how God works.
Instead, God chooses to both include mankind in the
kingdom-building and to bless mankind with different spiritual gifts in order
to teach us how we, too, should include when doing kingdom work.
As Paul says: “But to
each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7, my italics). Each individual’s gift is for the kingdom,
for others, like one piece in a larger puzzle.
God desires His children to work together, to support, to aid
one another in the building process. It’s
a lesson in putting aside “I” in favor of “we” in God’s work, a lesson He’s
been teaching time and again since the Old Testament.
Consider when Amalek came to fight against Israel:
“So it came about when Moses held his
hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’
hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on
it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the
other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set” (Ex. 17:11-12).
God could have caused the earth to open and swallow Amalek,
no help needed from mankind. God could
have used only His servant Moses and his staff to strike the offenders dead at
once. God could have supernaturally
endowed Moses with the strength to hold his own hands up through the entire
battle. But He did none of the above.
Instead, God allowed Joshua and his men to fight while two
others literally supported Moses and, thus, all be a part of the victory. The joy of that shared victory was surely much
more intense than it would have been had a single man brought it about.
Scripture teaches, “Two
are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either
of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls
when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together
they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower
him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not
quickly torn apart” (Ecc. 4:9-12).
In this light, let us look to our own lives to see if we’re
trying to be lone rangers in a faith that isn’t autonomous. Are there any ministries in which we are
involved where we could include others?
Including others and receiving their support in kingdom
ministry may make you a blessing to someone else, may draw them closer to the
body. But such joining together just
might be a blessing to you as well.
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