Working Together for His Kingdom

Working Together for His Kingdom
 
One day there was an argument among the fingers in my right hand. The ‘middle’ finger said, “I am the most important part of the body since I am the tallest among all the fingers.” The ‘ring’ finger said, “I always have a golden ring on me. I am beautiful and rich. I must be the most important finger”. The ‘points’ finger jumped into the fray and said “l am the finger that points out directions, gestures while speaking. I think I am the most important finger”. The thumb simply laughed at all of them and said, “I am the strongest and also used to make ‘thumb impressions’ for identification purposes. So, I am the most important finger.” The little finger was quiet and all the other fingers were curious to know whether it had anything to say. They asked the finger, tell us “who needs you – you are so tiny, weak and probably just add on.” The little finger replied “I am the one who faces God, when my master folds his hands and prays to God. I am also the one who greets others, when my master says ‘namaste’ in the Indian traditional way.” The little finger continued “well I can’t do it alone and I don’t do it alone. All of you come together behind me in a formation that makes the praying hand and a greeting hand seem pleasing to God and others. We need each other.”

The challenges of fulfilling the great commission in this generation cannot be achieved by any one church, mission agency, organization or association. The kingdom of God and the church that Jesus Christ is building is simply bigger than what are all doing. Firstly we need to work in partnership with God, without which our ministry will lack any spiritual credibility. Secondly we need to learn to work with one another. We all may look different from one another, have different strategies, methodologies and expertise but when we network together we bring glory to God. Cooperation and not competition is the need of the hour.

Working together does not happen naturally. Networking and building partnerships take time, since it is not just a contract or agreement signed between two parties. Building trust with one another and relationships take time. The scripture has so many passages where we are exhorted to maintain unity and work together. It is more important to bring glory to God than just being successful. Individual success like a shooting star never builds the kingdom of God. It is partnerships and networking that brings glory to God. The purpose and motivation for missions is to give glory to God.

We at Interserve have always strived to exist and serve with the ethos of working together with others. May the Lord help us to bring glory to him through our various ministries as we work together with others! John Amalraj

© 2007, INFOCUS, Interserve, India.

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