Twice as much light? [Part One]

The old saying “don’t burn the candle at both ends” is used to warn people not to become overly committed to something to the point of exhaustion. 

Recently a Christian friend of mine told me that I was “too involved in the ‘doing’ part of my faith”.  Wow.  What a statement.  Is it possible to be overly involved in ministry?

I have been meditating on this question all week and have decided to split this into a two-part discussion.  The first part will be my initial reaction to that statement and the second will be what the Bible says about work and rest.

My thoughts:

1.  I don’t know how long I will live.  We sing songs about it all the time, but seriously, if this is my last day on earth, would I do what I am currently doing?

2.  One of my favorite mentors is the Apostle Paul who may have been labeled a “double-end burner”.  More on him tomorrow.

3.  I don’t want to become comfortable with my current situation or become apathetic towards the moving of God.  Too often I have become stagnant doing the same thing I’ve done every day that eventually a year passes and I ask myself “what did I accomplish this past year?!”

4.  Some people are not thinking eternally when they condemn the ministry efforts of other Christians.  This is the first response I gave my friend: “I don’t think you’ll say that I did too much ministry when we are standing before the throne room of God”.  Honestly.  That is the end state.  It all comes down to giving Him my all and at the end of my life I want to look back and say that I did that.  I have a feeling that the moment I die and come before Christ, everything on earth that I have dedicated my time towards will be viewed, in full spectrum, before God.  The question is not AM I DOING TOO MUCH MINISTRY, but when I get to heaven is DID I DO ENOUGH MINISTRY?

5.  Rest is good and is desperately needed.  I will talk more about rest tomorrow.

6.  And finally, I don’t think God wires everyone the same.  God has wired some people to get more and more excited at His moving to the point that it is all they think about!  In his recent book Axiom, Bill Hybels explains this concept:

Sometimes while [Dr. B] was talking about the local church, I felt the passion so strongly I could barely keep myself from crying.  Other times I wanted to jump up and shout, “Gang, this is it!  Don’t you see it?  Can’t you feel it?  The local church is the hope of the world!  It’s the God-ordained redemptive agency that the future of the entire world hangs on.  Cancel your career plans!  Do something important with your one and only life!  Lay it down for the sake of the local church!”  The local church – it still stirs the deepest kinds of feelings in me.  Nothing else does this to me.  I’ve had some other exhilarating experiences in my life, but they pale in comparison to what stirs in my heart when it comes to giving my life to help renew the local church.  Vision and passion are inextricably bound together in the life of a leader.  God made it so.  When you have eyes to see the vision that God has given you, you’ll know it because your heart will feel it so deeply that, over time, any lingering uncertainty will vanish.  Leaders, don’t ever apologize for the strength of feeling you have for the vision that God has put into your life.  (pg 30-31)