In Whose Name Do You Minister?

While I was attending Geneva College, a professor once said to me “Too many people make themselves available to ministry, but not available to God.”  At the time I thought it sounded profound but beyond that did not really get it.

Now I am starting to get it.  Three years ago, when my professor said that to me, he was actually speaking about me.  At that time, I was ready to be a Youth Pastor, but cared very little about being a follower of Christ.  I certainly would never admit to that, but my personal life screamed it out rather clearly.  Looking back, my classes were filled with people living the same way.  We had dreams of what we  could do to change the church and make it more biblical, and what we could do minister to teens and change their lives, the only problem was, we could not have cared less about what God was doing, or even who He was.  There are two somewhat scary questions that this brings to mind, now that God has graciously saved me and opened my eyes:

How many people have actually gone into ministry selfishly?  How many people are out there ministering off of pride and selfish ambition while leading godless lives? And how many people are they leading astray?  It is sad and scary, and places a heavy burden on those who are actually seeking the glory of God.  God is still sovereign, and can use anything to draw men unto himself, but we must be careful to preach and share out of a love for God and others, not ourselves.

How many ‘Christians’ are deceiving themselves?  Scripture says that many will say on that  day “Lord, we did all these things in Your name.” and God will say “Away from me, I never knew you.”  While I was training to become a youth pastor, I deceived myself into thinking I was an obedient Christian, but in reality, I was a selfish sinner.  We must be always testing ourselves, purifying our minds and hearts, and focusing on the glory of God and the cross of Christ.  It is far too easy to deceive yourself.

What are you doing to make yourself available to God, and not just to ministry itself?