It's probably safe to say that most of us have had few life/death moments that were dependent on our quick thinking and action where "nothing else mattered." On the other hand, we do face chronic issues that require us to make life/death decisions routinely over our lifetimes. These chronic matters we rarely contemplate like we should, because they're not acute, adrenaline-pumping crises. No more baiting; here's the point:
"What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It's not an office; it's a lifestyle devoted to advancing other people's faith and holiness. In this sense the only life that counts for anything is a life of ministry -- whether you're a banker or a bricklayer. Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive."
That is the position of John Piper as he states it in his magnificent book, Future Grace. And I have come to agree with him. "Fulfilling [my] ministry is more important than staying alive... and nothing else matters." No, this is not a process involving series of hair-raising, near (or flat out) catastrophes. It's a process that is occurring in the middle of the many decisions, small and large, I make every day. Do I handle these decisions by working them through the sieve of the ministry God has for me?
That is why, when faced with the dreaded prospect of unemployment, our family chose to define desired and prayed-for "employment" not in terms of equal or better income than the last job. We chose, by faith and by His grace, to ask God to provide for us the type of employment that would enable us to best fulfill His calling on our lives, whatever that may be. I say with great joy that He has answered our prayers for the near term!
I have accepted an offer of employment with a company in the same field of my most recent professional expertise. I cannot thank those of you who prayed for us enough for having done so! I am deeply grateful. The irony here is that the position does pay better than my last gig; however, God has so graciously reordered our financial lives and life-goals that this fact is meaningful in ways that are completely different than they what they would have been a few short months ago. Because "fulfilling our ministry is more important than staying alive" and nothing else matters.
Because this is a public site, I have to be careful how I articulate God's call on our lives regarding specific ministry. There are several reasons why I have to remain cryptic in how I state certain things. Suffice to say that I was not created to be simply a salesperson. I was created, like you as a fellow follower of Jesus, to be a not-so-secret agent for His Kingdom. How that identity looks will morph over time, but for now I am in the "banker/bricklayer" category, as Piper puts it. Pray for us as we seek to continually discern His path for us. Whether here or abroad in years to come, our desire is to serve Him and nothing else matters.
P.S. -- Please check back soon as I lay out several miracles of God's revealed presence to us during the unemployment stint. I'll bet you'll be inspired and think it's quite cool!
