What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It’s not an office like elder or deacon; it’s a lifestyle devoted to making much of Christ and meeting the needs of others. It means that we “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Whether we are bankers or bricklayers, it means that we aim at advancing other people’s faith and holiness to the glory of God.
Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive. This conviction is what makes the lives of radically devoted people so inspiring to watch. Most of them speak the way Paul did about his ministry here in Acts 20:24: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life.
Before he was known as a civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a preacher. For King, faith and practice had always been inseparable. Both his grandfather and father were pastors and civil rights leaders. In 1958 a woman stabbed Dr. King when he was signing autographs.The blade went in so far the tip was on the edge of his aorta. After surgery the doctor said if he had merely sneezed he would have died. But he didn't sneeze and God restored him to full health so he could complete his mission.
Ten years later while giving a speech in Memphis he said, "I'm happy I didn't sneeze. Because if I had I wouldn't have been around to take part in several improvements that moved America a few steps closer to the dream." But in the same speech Dr. King spoke as though God had given him a prophetic look at what was to come. "Well I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountain top. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you; but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."
The next day, on April 4, 1968, standing on his balcony, he was assassinated. You may think you need to save your life in order to do your ministry. On the contrary, how you lose your life may be the capstone of your ministry. It certainly was for Jesus — only in his thirties.
We need not fret about keeping ourselves alive in order to finish our ministry. God alone knows the appointed time of our service. He will decide when our death is not an interruption of our ministry, but the last act of our ministry.
Henry Martyn was right when he said, “If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.” In other words, I am immortal until my work is done. Therefore, ministry is more important than life.
