When Ministry Holds up a Mirror

God saw fit to place me into a place of awesome influence when He placed me in the lives of these students. Now, if I leave it at that I could comfortably stand back, admire this season of my life, smile and continue on as if it were just one of the millions of details that makes up my current existence. But God doesn't leave it at that. He had to go and have James write that infernal verse "With great power comes great responsibility" ...... oh wait... that was what Uncle Ben told Peter Parker as he died..... sorry.... geek moment....... Ahh! Here's what I was looking for: James 3:1 says,

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

So that throws a wrench into my comfort as a teacher! here I am minding my own business and God gently clears his throat and says, "Hey bro. You know that stuff you told the youth group that they should be doing.... don't you think that you should do it too? Just a thought." Of course He is right. And it is in these moments that you realize that ministry isn't just for the people you minister to. It is also a powerful tool for God to hold up as a mirror every once in a while to see if you are willing to Spirit driven heart surgery when your heart doesn't line up with His (even if your words do).

Thank God that his grace continues to work in the lives of those we call ministers (which should basically be everyone claiming to be a Christian right?). As much as it hurts my pride, my free time, or my ideas, I am very thankful that God holds up that mirror. If I am someone that any number of people in this world will look at expecting to see Christ exemplified, I better be willing to take a look at myself daily to make sure I don't have something embarrassing hanging from my nose or something ugly coming out of my mouth. (Yeah... you get the point).