The Price of Ministry

Over two millennia ago, Jesus said that anyone who gives even a glass of water to another because the latter is His disciple will never lose his/her reward. It’s an irreversible law of God. Whatever the Lord says can never be altered. So, Jesus’ word stands up to this day – and further on. Every tiny act within the ministry of God’s field really counts before Him.

Imagine this: a servant of God is exhausted after a long and tiresome evangelism service somewhere in a remote village. A little girl approaches him, handing him a glass of cold water to drink. Surely that’s a relief for the minister, and very much appreciated.

BUT… now, imagine THIS: another servant of God is preaching in the ballroom of a five-star hotel before an audience of hundreds. After the service is over, he receives invitations from dozens of people and attends a dinner with notable men – where, of course, they don’t serve him a glass of water, but cocktail punch and fresh orange juice that come in gallons. Will he appreciate it as much as the servant of God in the above example?

Now, that’s the problem. True, God writes everything in His book and rewards every person according to his/her good deeds. Nothing is hidden or overlooked in His sight. But unfortunately, man doesn’t possess the same vision as He does. While God looks at the heart, man looks at the deeds. God counts the quality, man counts the quantity. Many times, our focus deviates from God – we thought we are doing something for the ministry of a certain servant of God, and not for the ministry of the Lord.

I thank God that He has moved us from the city to the village. I realize now that one of the reasons He did it was to teach us to understand the price of ministry before Him. Back in the city, we attended and served in a large-scale church with a thousand members of congregation. It has got hundreds of choir members and dozens of wonderful-voiced singers and so many musicians that losing one or two members don’t count at all. When we were there, we knew we were serving the Lord, but we didn’t find our ministry worth anything. There wasn’t much appreciation coming from other members of the congregation – and it sorts of deviates our appreciation toward the ministry of the Lord as well.

But now, here in the village, where we are shepherded in a small church with fifty people attending each Sunday, every single ministry we do extremely counts! With so few persons able to serve God in music and praise, our existence in this little church is really appreciated, and every tune we sing and play truly worth something. And, which is more, we realize – as clear and sharp as crystal shards – that we are doing this for the Lord. He is with us in every song we sing and every chord we play.

Thank God for His wonderful and unfathomable plans…! For the Lord is good, and His mercy endures forever…!