Have you ever sat beside an ant-hill and watched the ants move a piece of bread to their nest? The task of small ants moving such a large crust would seem, to us, impossible. But as crumb by crumb is moved, the job is accomplished in short order.
So it is with humans when there is a job to be done! What would be an impossible or slow task for one or two people becomes quite minor as many join to help. We won't soon forget the time we moved from one home to another when our friends all arrived to help. An all-day job was accomplished in short order.
So it is that men, by working together in a church or missionary effort, can accomplish much. By maintaining unity in love and understanding, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ can be spread quickly, and humanitarian help given to the needy. But man working with man can get only limited results unless God himself is in charge of the work.
Too often we get the cart before the horse. We begin a good work for the Lord then ask His blessing upon it! He wants us, instead, to be led of Him, then we are given help and wisdom to carry it out. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matt.11:30). Only by yoking up in the harness with Jesus can the job be done quickly and easily. If a church or group can be unified in seeking the will of God before deciding on the task, then work together in harmony with Him, great works can be accomplished.
There are usually two drawbacks to getting a job done. The first is that we often go blindly ahead thinking we are doing God's work when He really didn't want us busy with that right now, and we failed to do what He really wanted us to do.
The second drawback is that it is difficult for humans to work together without disagreeing. It so often happens that we all begin the job in harmony but, as the job progresses, jealousy and ill-will appear. One accusation leads to another until people begin to lose interest in the project which began with such enthusiasm. Human sin prevents us from completing the task. Submission to God and submission to others is difficult for we self-willed humans.
"We are labourers together with God" (I Cor.3:9). Only as we learn to ask Him for leading and become a more holy people who want to deal with our own sin can we take our good news to the far ends of the earth. A thirsty and starving world who knows not where to turn is waiting. We must get our act together with Jesus in charge. We work for Him; He does not work for us!
Jesus' final prayer was for you and me--for the future believers. He knew our weakness was that of disunity, therefore He prayed, "that they will be of one heart and mind just as you and I are, Father--that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me...so that the mighty love you have for me may be in them, and I in them" (John 17:20-26 LB).
As we read the Bible and see the unfolding of God's plan for the ages, we realize we are living in a special time in history. You and I have been specially designed and molded for a special work. Let us be sure we are working for a Christian leader who gets his orders from the King of kings and Lord of lords, and let us also be sure we are hearing the voice of our Master. Then let us ask Him to show us our human frailties so that a spirit of cooperation can be built among us, and His great commission carried out (Matt.28:19-20).
Many hands make light work!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer