Sent out two by two
I recently received one of those email forwards, and although I’m sure many of you have heard it before, I think there’s so much truth in it that I want to share it with you.
A man writes, “I am writing in response to your request concerning clarification of the information I supplied in block number eleven on the insurance form, which asked for the cause of the injury. I answered, “Trying to do the job alone.” I trust the following explanation will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the injury, I was working alone, laying brick around the top of a five-story building. When I finished the job, I had about 500 lbs. of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to put them into a barrel and lower them by a pulley that was fastened to the top of the building.
I secured the end of the rope at ground level, went back up to the top of the building, loaded the bricks into the barrel, and pushed it over the side. I then went back down to the ground and untied the rope, holding it securely to insure the slow descent of the barrel. As you will note in block number six of the insurance form, I weigh 180 lbs. At the shock of being jerked off the ground so swiftly by the 500 lbs of bricks in the barrel, I lost my presence of mind--and forgot to let go of the rope.
Between the 2nd and 3rd floors I met the barrel. This accounts for the bruises and lacerations on my upper body. Fortunately, I retained enough presence of mind to maintain my tight hold on the rope and proceeded rapidly up the side of the building, not stopping until my right hand was three knuckles deep in the pulley. This accounts for my broken thumb (see block four) despite the pain; I continued to hold tightly to the rope. Unfortunately, at approximately the same time the barrel hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighted about 50 lbs I again refer you to block number six, where my weight is listed at 180 lbs. I began a rapid descent.
In the vicinity of the 2nd floor I met the barrel coming up. This explains the injury to my legs and lower body. Slowed only slightly, I continued my increasingly rapid descent, landing on the pile of bricks. Fortunately my back was only sprained. I am sorry to report, however, that at that moment I lost my presence of mind--and let go of the rope. This explains my two broken legs. I trust this answers your concern. Please note that I am finished trying to do the job alone.”
Have you ever tried to do a two person job by yourself? I know that I have, and perhaps that’s why this story seems to continuously circle around. Clearly this story is an exaggeration. But its exaggeration just makes it a little easier for us to see the truth in it. There are simply some things that are best done with more than one person.
Have you ever tried to move a mattress or a box spring up a staircase by yourself? Just a few months ago I tried to move our queen size box spring by myself. I got it just far enough to get it sorta wedged around a corner. Moving that box spring was a two person job and by trying to do it myself, I only made it more difficult by getting it wedge.
We all do this in so many different ways. Not only do we do it in our jobs or projects around the house, we do it in ministry as well. So often we think that we have to do a service project or ministry alone. We think in terms of “what is God’s will for MY life?” “what is God asking ME to do?” “What can I do?” One the one hand those are good questions to ask but they are detrimental when they make us think we have to do it all alone. That’s not how Jesus intends us to be in ministry but so often we act like we have to do it all alone.
In the scripture passage today from the gospel of Mark, Jesus sends the disciples out in twos. Jesus didn’t send the 12 disciples out alone, he sent them out two by two. This isn’t the first time in the bible that we see God sending people out in pairs. It wasn’t just Abraham that was told to leave his home, but Abraham and Sarah. When Moses was sent to the Israelites, God sent Aaron with him. When Jonathan attacks the philistines he takes his armor bearer with him. David, the king of Israel, had Nathan the prophet. Even Paul, who is credited with writing most of the letters in the New Testament, travelled with other apostles.
There’s a lot of good reason to go in groups of two or more. For one thing, safety was an issue. In Jesus’ time it was dangerous to travel alone. The disciples were better able to look out for one another when they weren’t alone. It’s like the old adage that there’s safety in numbers. But Jesus’ way is the way of the cross, of suffering and persecution so I think there has to be a lot more to it than just a safety issue.
The way of the cross is hard, and it’s discouraging when people are not receptive to the ministry we are a part of or when our plans don’t work out the way we had hoped they would. We know that all will not be receptive to what we offer. Even Jesus was rejected by some. Jesus was rejected by the very people he knew the most. And Jesus’ instruction to the disciples being sent out in pairs, includes what to do when we are not well received.
Sometimes life is discouraging. Having a partner in ministry to encourage you is sometimes the only thing that keeps us going. When we try to go it alone, we are like the ember that gets pulled out of the fire. Pretty soon, we’re just a cold discouraged piece of coal that has lost its fire and its passion. But when we are in partnership, we burn brighter and hotter and longer. We need the energy and passion of other Christians in order to sustain long term ministry.
Having a partner in ministry also keeps us accountable. It gives us accountability for both the ministry God sends us on and for personal growth. When Moses was gone too long on the mountain, Aaron gives into to the wishes of the people and makes an idol for the people to worship. It’s only when Moses comes back down from the mountain that Aaron is called to account for his actions.
The same thing happens with us. When we are left to do things on our own, it’s easy to stray from the path, and to stop short of the ministries God has in store for us. We need to be accountable to someone who will tell us when we are going in the wrong direction, someone who will speak the truth to us even when it hurts. So Jesus sent them out two by two.
Or what about David, when he got Bathsheba pregnant and then had Uriah, her husband, killed to cover it up. It was Nathan that calls him out for his misconduct. Nathan helps David see that he has become more concerned with his own desires, than he has with the needs of Israel. Without Nathan to hold David accountable, who knows what else David would have done. Maybe David would have had anyone killed that he didn’t like, or maybe he would have slowly taken foreign wives and lead Israel away from worship God alone.
While our transgressions are often not as big as David’s were, we still stray from the life God intends us to live. We still have moments in life where we put our wants before the needs of those God has called us to serve. We need a partner who will call us back to faithful living, who will keep us from wandering farther and farther off the path. So Jesus sent them out two by two.
We also need partners because we all have different gifts, no one person has every gift. We need to be in ministry with one another so we can compliment one another’s gifts. On one level we know this, and we often talk about how we are called to different ministries. But we are also called to different roles within the same ministry. It’s like the man who sold Christmas trees. He noticed a couple looking for a tree. Both of them wore clothes from the bottom of the bin of the Salvation Army store. After bypassing trees that were too expensive, they found a scotch pine that was ok on one side but pretty bare on the other. Then they picked up another tree that was not much better, full on one side, scraggly on the other. They offered the man $3 for both trees. The man figured neither of the trees would sell so he agreed.
A few days later the man was walking down the street and saw a beautiful tree in the couple’s apartment. It was thick and well rounded. He knocked on their door, and they told him how they had pushed the two trees together where the branches were thin. Then they tied the trunks together. The branches overlapped and formed a tree so thick you couldn’t see the wire. The man described it, “As a tiny forest of its own.” “So that’s the secret,” the man asserts.” You take two trees that aren’t perfect, that have flaws, that might even be homely, that maybe nobody would want. If you put them together just right, you come up with something really beautiful.”
None of us are perfect. No one person has every single spiritual gift there is. We need one another to balance each other out. We need each other, so one person can be full where the other person’s gifts are sparse. So often in life we try to hide our bare spots, or try to get the sparse sections to grow so we can be everything ourselves. But that’s not how God intends us to be in ministry. We’re not supposed to do it alone.
So Jesus sent them out two by two. Who is it that Jesus is sending you with? Who is your partner in ministry? Who is God calling you to be in partnership with?
Sometimes we are called to be in ministry with our spouse. Sometimes, even if we are married, we are called to be ministry partners with someone else. Your ministry partner should be someone who is passionate about the same things you are. It should be someone that has different gifts than you do, someone whose gifts compliment your gifts. Your ministry partner should be someone who isn’t afraid to, in love, tell you when you have messed up, someone who isn’t afraid to push you not to stop short of the goal God has set for you.
But your ministry partner should also be someone who encourages you, someone who will walk beside you, who knows when to speak words of encouragement to you. And who knows when to just walk with you in silence. And just as importantly, your ministry partner should be someone for whom you can do all of these things. The partnership should be a mutual thing.
If you don’t know who you should be in ministry with, then pray about it. Don’t just assume that God forgot to make you a ministry partner. We need partners in ministry. It’s not something we do alone. So pray about it. Ask God to help you discern who you are being called to be in partnership with.
Jesus sent them out two by two. Don’t try to go it alone.
Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment