To the Work. Do the Work

Legendary songstress Frances Jane Crosby (a.k.a. Fanny) wrote over 8,000 songs and sold over 100 million. 

In 1869 she wrote To The work! “To the work! To the work! We are servants of God; Let us follow the path that our Master has trod; With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew, Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.”

Paul penned “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). And Hebrews reminds us to “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (10:24). 

I’m reminded that some things just take work. It takes work to put a sermon together. It takes work to build influence in the local church to the point you can make an impact. It takes work to lead a soul to obey the Gospel. Most of us would agree that it takes work to remember names. You can have all sort of tricks - but ultimately it takes sitting down with the directory and working or interacting with individuals to the point you remember their names. 

But there are other things that simply are not easy but we must do the work if we are to be effective long-term in ministry. Here’s among the biggest of those. Forgiving: One of the most challenging things for most who walk around in flesh is to forgive others. We do not have the power that Jesus has (Matthew 6:9), but we do have the opportunity to not be chained to the hurt of those who have hurt us. And, if you are in ministry you will get hurt. So you must be able to let go of that hurt to work effectively with others. In my axioms for effectiveness in ministry, Moving past a hurt, may be the biggest. How quickly we can move past it when someone hurts us and how fully we can let go of that hurt will determine to a large degree how effective and how enduring we are in God’s ministry. 

So, don’t quit! To the work.