The other day, I had the privilege of doing some chores outside. There were some bushes that needed to be trimmed back. I had a little time on my hands, so I decided to knock them out.

I called to my two younger sons to come and help me. I figured that they could probably use something to burn off some energy. (Okay, their parents needed them to burn off some energy.) I put them to work hailing off small branches that I cut off.

It wasn’t long after we got started good that it began… the whining. It was coming from the youngest son. He realized that his brother had checked out. The middle son had come to the point where he realized that this was “work” not “fun.” He was done.

As my youngest son stood there in the yard, yelling for his brother to come help him, I leaned over and told him, “It’s no fun when your partners bail on you, huh?”  He made a face and went back to helping (for a little while).

After I said that to my son, I began to think about what I had said. I thought about times where I had felt the sting of that truth. Maybe it was at a job… Maybe it was on a sport’s team… Maybe it was in a church/ministry.

When God changes your life through the new birth, He places on you a task (the Great Commission) and places you in a team (a local church).

[If you have trusted Christ for salvation, but you are not involved in a local church, you are living in rebellion to God’s plan for you. Find a local, Bible-believing, on-mission fellowship and get in the game!]

 

When it comes to the task of the believer (making disciples), God does not expect us to work alone. He gives us two key helpers: (1) The Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17) and (2) Other believers (1 Corinthians 12:7).

While the Holy Spirit will never leave you, the other helpers may sadly. There are times when fellow believers decide to “sit this one out”… or not do their part leaving you or someone else to pick up the slack.

Paul spoke about this throughout 1 Corinthians 12. All believers make up the Body of Christ. We need each part to do its job. I may not be able to do what God has called and equipped you to do. You may not be able to do what God has called and equipped me to do. But if we each are faithful with the task that God has called us to, we will see great things.

When we decide not to do our part – maybe because it is hard or inconvenient or not as glamorous as someone else or tiring or not what we expected – it’s no fun for anyone.