In our personal ministry to others, we exercise a function where on one hand we represent the person to the Lord by our prayers and concerns. On the other hand, we represent God to the person whose life we touch. Our lives and our words are channels through which God communicate himself and his truth to others. This is quite a responsibility for each of us.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 helps us understand how you and I can be equipped to minister.
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The passage begins by affirming the existence of God as the Lord. “The lord is one”. Lord in Hebrew is Yahweh, which means “the one who is always present”. You and I are to know God and acknowledge him as one who is always with us – to meet every need, to enable us and to support.
This is how God has revealed himself to us, and we are called to respond to him. We are to love and make him the center of our lives as we give all (heart and soul) to his service.
We show our love to him by taking the commandments that he gives us today into our hearts. We should make his word become a part of our personalities and our lives. The word today is important. None of us know God or His word completely. For each of us, knowing God involves a process of growth. What is vital is that in each today you and I respond to what we do know of the Lord. It is pretty good that we don’t have to know everything to be able to help others. All we need to do is be responsive to what God is teaching us now. We should live by the word we understand today, with hope and assurance that tomorrow will bring us more understanding and more growth.
There is more in Deuteronomy 6 concerning ministry. The phrase “You shall teach them diligently to your children”, remind us that ministry of God’s word is very personal and intimate. Whenever we talk to others about the Lord and his word, we need to treat them in the close warm and loving way similar to family relationships.
The verse also encourages us to weave the ministry to others into our daily lives. Ministry is to take place not just in the church building and classroom. We are also to talk about God’s word when we sit at home, when we walk the streets, when we lie down and when we wake up.
