Yesterday we met a couple who had been ministering as pastor/wife in many parts of the country. We had some common education experiences and I told him about finishing a degree online. He asked what many graduates from post-secondary education get asked: What have you done with your training? I replied with what seminary dean said in the beginning: “You do not take further education to prepare you for a role or task; you take further education to change your life, to make you more like Jesus.”
Today’s devotional reminds me of that goal. MacArthur says experiences prepare Christians for future ministry. In a sense, they do, but there are dangers in that focus. One of them is putting ministry somewhere aside ‘until I graduate’ rather than being involved in serving others whenever I can.
For example, Jesus called Peter with these words: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Luke 5:10) Also, when the first congregation was gathered in the Upper Room they prayed: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” (Acts 4:29) In both, there was no mention of more education to prepare them; their ministry started now.
Any urgency to wait until I know my Bible better or until I’ve been taught properly is absent from the NT. I see the opposite in verses like these:
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:6)
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8)
Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10)
Another reason is implied by reliance on experiences. What if I’ve not had any useful events? I might easily make excuses like, ‘I don’t know how to share my faith’ or ‘I need to be taught how to answer the tough questions’ — excuses that keep me from saying or doing anything that might reveal my ignorance. The reality about getting a degree in theology is that more education does not give boldness or increase love for people. This comes from the Holy Spirit, not books or drafting papers or taking exams. If my confidence is in those things or the marks received, or in past experiences, then it is in the wrong things. 1 Corinthians 8:1 is clear: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”
Not only that, what I say and do is Spirit-motivated for each need. In speaking of persecution, Jesus said:
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew 10:19–20)
God has shown me how His Spirit does that in ordinary conversations also. Being filled with the Spirit — whose fruit is love — enables “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) just as God promised Moses: “Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:12) Silence of witness is not a problem with lack of experience or training; it is a problem of lack of faith, disobedience, and self-reliance.
Another danger of relying on training or experience is just that . . . and not relying on God. As the Spirit gives thoughts and words, they come from His knowledge of what the other person needs to hear, not from my knowledge of what the Word of God says, or some book I’ve read, or my favorite teachings and doctrines or my experiences. While He might choose to use those sources, He is not limited to my background. He can put ideas on my tongue that suit the situation. I cannot know the hearts of other people like He does, and if I try to calculate the right thing to say, it could offend or be the wrong thing.
That has happened to me. I asked a friend for help with a problem and her response was so far off base that it made me feel even more alone and without answers. On other occasions, people say things that build me up and don’t even realize that this happened. Their words were Spirit-inspired and from the heart.
Jesus, thank You that my resource is not experiences, education or the lack of it. While learning is edifying, reliance on You is still the greatest way to be a blessing. Thank You for Your faithfulness and Your ability to equip me, even when I’m unaware of the impact Your thoughts have when expressed by my most feeble attempts.
CONSIDER: how God blesses me with what I need when I need it and those blessings are often a surprise.
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