Lately, I have been doing much reflecting on my ministry situation since entering my tenth year leading this congregation. Throughout this season, I have often felt tense, frustrated and full of thoughts of what I anticipated would happen but has not. I have also grown very thankful for the love and respect extended to me—the people I serve really know how to treat their pastor. I feel loved and respected by congregation members, but when I focus on the reality that God allows me to proclaim his Word to his people, I am humbled. In this state of mixed emotion, I remind myself that I am living a great life.
“I am living a great life.” This little statement is one that I have been repeating to myself over and over. When I do, I relax, and a sense of calm washes over me. I wonder if you also need to be reminded of this reality. Yes, ministry is filled with challenges and will never be easy. It was not intended to be, and Jesus clearly told us the truth about our task. The early church leaders also exemplified how we faced the challenges of making disciples. You are living a great life; let me explain why I believe this.
You are living a great life if you are called a Christian. Disciples of Jesus were first called by this term in Antioch, as recorded in Acts 11:26. I understand that this term was used to describe disciples because it means little Christ. Their lives resembled Jesus so much that his title of Christ told how they were seen throughout their community. This is not a self-descriptive term, but it was given by those who saw their life. If people see you living like Jesus, you are living a great life.
This great life of ours is not only identified by those who see the way we live but by the amazing task to which we are called. Throughout the Scripture and history, God has called many to preach the gospel. This is our great task. The trouble here is our focus on how many we preach to instead of our preaching mission. Stop looking at the size of your congregation and start dwelling on the immense weight of the reality itself. The One and Only Holy God has called you and me. Only discouragement or pride will result from focusing on the size of your congregation. If you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, you live a great life.
Living like Jesus and preaching his gospel leads to a third reason we all need to be reminded that we are living a great life. Proverbs 19:21 states, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (NIV). When I started pastoral ministry in 1996, I had a lot of plans. Those placed in my heart by God have been fulfilled. I can recall the day I moved away from the city where I attended Bible college. My wife and three children had gone on ahead of me with my mother-in-law, leaving me and my father to drive the moving truck from Colorado to California. As I left town, I asked the Lord for 25 years of ministry, followed by another 25 years of teaching the next generation of pastors. Twenty-seven years later, I am pastoring a local church and teaching courses for those who enter ministry in my denomination. His plans for me are being fulfilled, and I am living a great life.
We all need to be reminded of the reality that we are living a great life from time to time. That is probably why God has you reading this article. So, when you find yourself with a death grip on your phone or restlessly moving through your day, stop and say these words, “I am living a great life.”
Perhaps, when driving away from church next Sunday, you should tell yourself the same thing instead of putting yourself down for not delivering the perfect sermon. Live like Jesus, preach his gospel, and fulfill his purposes. It is a great life.
