So they went over to him and asked:
- Who brought you here?
- What are you doing in this place?
- What is keeping you here?” (Judges 18:3, HCSB).
It is often therapeutic, directive, and beneficial to pause to reflect for a moment concerning the why behind what we do. This lesson caused me to do just that.
There are at least seven reasons why I became a minister. This blog post covers the first two.
Because:
- I was qualified. At first glance it appears the basic qualification of a potential minister is being unqualified (1 Corinthians 1:26; 2 Corinthians 12:10). I was FAT enough.
- F: faithful; willing to obey (1 Samuel 15:22; 1 Corinthians 4:2). Faithfulness is an old word for “trustworthy” and is required in God’s ministers.
- A: Available (Romans 12:1). I was a willing vessel (2 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:4). Our availability is a predictor and prerequisite of our usability.
- T: Teachable. A young man recently, “If you had only one word of advice for young ministers, what would it be?” Simple: Be teachable. That is good advice for young, middle-aged, and even elderly ministers alike. We shouldn’t grow out of being teachable. I’m sure being “humble” is a factor or ingredient in being “teachable” (1 Samuel 15:17; Proverbs 15:33; 1 Peter 5:5).
- I couldn’t help it. It was something I had to do. I was addicted.
- Jesus felt that way (John 4:4; 9:4).
- I detest people who use the word “must” in their writing. In editing I often soften it with words like “should” and “could.” Ministry wasn’t something I should do or could do but something I must do. Necessity is laid on me. I must preach (1 Corinthians 9:16). Like Jeremiah of old, there is no way I can hold His word within me (Jeremiah 20:9). It must be let out to a lost world.
- I became addicted to preaching and teaching the Word (1 Corinthians 16:15).
- Addiction is the state of being enslaved to something.
- It is an unusual great interest in something.
James Poitras 