When ministry "begins"

Driving into work today I was thinking about when ministry ends (if it ever ends) and "just life" begins. I then wondered if I can draw that line clearly.Is ministry simply when I am preparing and delivering a sermon or a Bible lesson or can it be sitting with my wife watching Dancing with the Stars fully embracing my God-given role as husband. Is it reading Bible stories to my boys, or can it encompass a game of Trouble or Go Fish? Quite obviously there are times, in a traditional ministry role, when I am not ministering. I do too much in the flesh and know that there are things that I have done "for the Lord" that were really done "for myself" or "for someone else".

But, when I leave the confines of the church building or am engaged in something other than Biblical instruction (i.e. "this is what the Bible says...") am I not ministering? Can "Biblical instruction" be defined as modeling God-given roles (like Dad, Husband, and Neighbor) for the Lord and not so that my life can be easier or more simple? Can I minister to my family and "unto the Lord" if I request a raise or if I get the oil changed in the car? I would like to think so, but I am not going to delude myself that this is, indeed, ministry.

Then again...

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

tightvnc keyboard mapping problem in Ubuntu 9.04

The manifestation of the "I" and the gift of self - Part 1

Let me learn what I need to learn