My youngest son loves to help my wife cook. From his youngest days, he would ask to help. I can remember my wife patiently helping him along as he delighted in helping in some small way. One day, while my wife is making a cake, my son comes up and wants to cracks the eggs. Despite knowing the potential for a mess, my wife delights in letting him help her. Needless to say, taking a bite into the cake after it was finished, revealed an egg shell that was missed.
My wife didn’t need my son to help her make the cake. She delighted in him, just him wanting to help. To show an interest in what she is doing. Not for the work that was done, but for the heart that they had to do it all along. Now that he has expressed interest and willingness to help, we have encouraged him in this and have given him something that he enjoys doing.
That’s the way that God views us doing work in His kingdom. He doesn’t need us to do anymore than my wife needed my son’s help. But God delights in us helping Him, despite the mess we may leave behind, or the imperfect result of our work. And when we do it with the heart like my son had with my wife, God delights in us doing this work and will give us a passion for more. When we understand this, we can may just begin to understand the reason for the passions that God has give us in this life. We can use those passions to further His kingdom, not so we can accomplish things (because remember, He doesn’t need us to help), but so he can delight in us and our willingness to help.
We can also begin to fully understand humility. We don’t do things for God’s kingdom because he needs us to, but because it builds us up…it adds to us. Read what Craig Gross has to say in his book Go Small,
Here’s another aspect of humility we can draw from Jesus’ words in the Gospel of Mark: an understanding that our acts of service are all about Him and have nothing to do with us. What do I mean? I mean simply: God doesn’t need your ministry idea.
His plans aren’t going to come crumbling down if you don’t do your thing.
God’s kingdom is not contingent on you. Or me. Or any of us.
Does he use our works? Absolutely.
Does God want us to partner with Him in bringing about His plans and purposes for this world and all the individual people in it? You better believe it.
Does Jesus need you to do your part? No way.
Everything we do for God in our ministry is something that God could’ve done with us. He doesn’t need us… We need him!
My wife allowing my son to help her, helped build his passion and make him a better young man, she didn’t need him, in fact he needed her.
Thankfully God allows us to help Him in his work. God has given us passions and gifts. Start using them for Him, not so we can do something, but so He can delight in us!
Exceptional Christian 