My favorite song from the popular musical “Wicked” is sung almost at the end. It is the final meeting of the two main characters, who have been friends and enemies, partners and rivals throughout the show. When they meet, under less than ideal circumstances right before the end they sing this song, knowing that they will probably never see each other again. It is an apology and an affirmation and an acknowledgment of a deep and lasting connection, of the impact that a person can make on another life. It is titled “For Good” and composer Stephen Schwartz considers it one of the best songs he’s ever written.
“I've heard it said / that people come into our lives for a reason / bringing something we must learn / and we are led / to those who help us most to grow / if we let them / and we help them in return // Well, I don't know if I believe that's true / but I know I'm who I am today / because I knew you...”
The duet recognizes the influence that others bring to our lives. The impact that they make, often in surprising, but permanent ways. The turn of the phrase of the title is that the beneficial (for good) influence from those close to us has a permanent (for good) effect. It stays with us. We are different because of the good that others bring to our lives.
“It well may be / that we will never meet again / in this lifetime / so let me say before we part / so much of me / is made of what I learned from you / you'll be with me / like a handprint on my heart // And now whatever way our stories end / I know you have re-written mine / by being my friend...”
This week we conclude our series on Christian service by looking at the big picture, by taking a long view. To be honest when I first came up with “Marathon Service” as a title for this last week, I had in mind working for the long term. And yet, here I am today writing instead about the long term impact. I’m not sure how that happened, except that the Spirit leads in surprising directions sometimes.
I did a little research into the couple of verses I chose for our scripture this week and found a word I wasn’t expecting to find. Take a look.
Galatians 6:9-10 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
I that there isn’t a whole lot of background that you can get from two verses. But I grabbed these for one simple phrase. “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right.” Pretty simple really. Just hang in there, says Paul, just keep plugging away. Service in the name of Christ is a marathon and not a sprint, as so many have written or said. So, keep at it.
And yet that hardly seems satisfactory. The idea that there is a reserve in me, that through sheer force of will, I can keep my nose to the grindstone, can keep putting one foot in front of another, driving myself into more and better service to God and my neighbor, is daunting at best, nonsense at worst. It just isn’t within me to keep going when I want to stop. It isn’t within me to keep serving when the energy runs out or the selflessness begins to wane. So, to what could Paul be referring when he says “let us not grow weary”?
The problems in the church at Galatia were many and complicated. There was division at the very core of the church. There was some serious theological debate, but mostly the division had to do with practice, how they lived out this new faith. It got to the point of name calling, of separation, of anger and frustration. All of this grieved Paul, as you might imagine. But he wasn’t ready to give up.
Chapter six begins with a conversation about how to deal with conflict. Using phrases like “spirit of gentleness” and “bear one another’s burdens,” Paul sets out a radically different tone for the church when it comes to division. Instead of the whoever shouts the loudest model of group dynamic, Paul wants the church to understand that there are different priorities, different methodologies.
He does include a warning of sorts, implying that there are responsibilities to those “who have been taught the Word.” There are expectations, there is a calling to live up to. There is a standard to keep.
It is in the midst of that conversation that verses 9 and 10 appear. “So, let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.”
It is that especially that caught me. At first it was an embarrassment. Surely, Paul, we aren’t to be an inward looking organization, concerned first with taking care of ourselves. Surely, we aren’t to have a me first mentality. What else could “especially for those of the family of faith” mean?
In Bill Hybels’ book “The Volunteer Revolution,” he talks about what it takes to engage in service for the long haul. He begins where we left off last week, with passion. Our goal, Hybels argues, is “to gradually align oneself closer and closer to authentic areas of passion and spiritual giftedness.” If this passion and spiritual giftedness is seen as coming from God, then we could argue that our first task to attain marathon service is to get closer to God and God’s action in our lives. Well, that seems a no brainer, really. If it is beyond my capacity to generate the energy to lifelong service, then I need the source of true power, the Holy Spirit.
But it is the second key to service longevity that unlocks the secret of Galatians 6. Hybels says that “I want to do the work God calls me to do in community with people I love.” To really sustain a servant’s heart, he argues, we need the support of the community. We need to be partnered with others who will help us stay fixed on the goal, stay true to the call.
That, I believe, is what “especially” means in verse ten. Not that Christians are more worthy of good works or acts of kindness than non-Christians. But that we are always on the look out for ways to cultivate the kind of relationships that will keep us connected, that will build up the body.
We are looking for and creating the kind of relationships whereby we are transformed by those who have come into our lives. We are made better, we are encouraged and equipped to be better, to serve with passion, to care with love. We have been remade for good, and we will continue to serve as long as we stay connected. We will not grow weary as long as we are sustained by the body of Christ.
Paul’s argument, then, would be that people do come into our lives for a reason, and we are in other people’s lives for a reason. And that reason is to be shaped for service in the name of Christ. And to be so shaped for good.
“I've heard it said / that people come into our lives for a reason / bringing something we must learn / and we are led / to those who help us most to grow / if we let them / and we help them in return // Well, I don't know if I believe that's true / but I know I'm who I am today / because I knew you...”
The duet recognizes the influence that others bring to our lives. The impact that they make, often in surprising, but permanent ways. The turn of the phrase of the title is that the beneficial (for good) influence from those close to us has a permanent (for good) effect. It stays with us. We are different because of the good that others bring to our lives.
“It well may be / that we will never meet again / in this lifetime / so let me say before we part / so much of me / is made of what I learned from you / you'll be with me / like a handprint on my heart // And now whatever way our stories end / I know you have re-written mine / by being my friend...”
This week we conclude our series on Christian service by looking at the big picture, by taking a long view. To be honest when I first came up with “Marathon Service” as a title for this last week, I had in mind working for the long term. And yet, here I am today writing instead about the long term impact. I’m not sure how that happened, except that the Spirit leads in surprising directions sometimes.
I did a little research into the couple of verses I chose for our scripture this week and found a word I wasn’t expecting to find. Take a look.
Galatians 6:9-10 So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. 10 So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.
I that there isn’t a whole lot of background that you can get from two verses. But I grabbed these for one simple phrase. “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right.” Pretty simple really. Just hang in there, says Paul, just keep plugging away. Service in the name of Christ is a marathon and not a sprint, as so many have written or said. So, keep at it.
And yet that hardly seems satisfactory. The idea that there is a reserve in me, that through sheer force of will, I can keep my nose to the grindstone, can keep putting one foot in front of another, driving myself into more and better service to God and my neighbor, is daunting at best, nonsense at worst. It just isn’t within me to keep going when I want to stop. It isn’t within me to keep serving when the energy runs out or the selflessness begins to wane. So, to what could Paul be referring when he says “let us not grow weary”?
The problems in the church at Galatia were many and complicated. There was division at the very core of the church. There was some serious theological debate, but mostly the division had to do with practice, how they lived out this new faith. It got to the point of name calling, of separation, of anger and frustration. All of this grieved Paul, as you might imagine. But he wasn’t ready to give up.
Chapter six begins with a conversation about how to deal with conflict. Using phrases like “spirit of gentleness” and “bear one another’s burdens,” Paul sets out a radically different tone for the church when it comes to division. Instead of the whoever shouts the loudest model of group dynamic, Paul wants the church to understand that there are different priorities, different methodologies.
He does include a warning of sorts, implying that there are responsibilities to those “who have been taught the Word.” There are expectations, there is a calling to live up to. There is a standard to keep.
It is in the midst of that conversation that verses 9 and 10 appear. “So, let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.”
It is that especially that caught me. At first it was an embarrassment. Surely, Paul, we aren’t to be an inward looking organization, concerned first with taking care of ourselves. Surely, we aren’t to have a me first mentality. What else could “especially for those of the family of faith” mean?
In Bill Hybels’ book “The Volunteer Revolution,” he talks about what it takes to engage in service for the long haul. He begins where we left off last week, with passion. Our goal, Hybels argues, is “to gradually align oneself closer and closer to authentic areas of passion and spiritual giftedness.” If this passion and spiritual giftedness is seen as coming from God, then we could argue that our first task to attain marathon service is to get closer to God and God’s action in our lives. Well, that seems a no brainer, really. If it is beyond my capacity to generate the energy to lifelong service, then I need the source of true power, the Holy Spirit.
But it is the second key to service longevity that unlocks the secret of Galatians 6. Hybels says that “I want to do the work God calls me to do in community with people I love.” To really sustain a servant’s heart, he argues, we need the support of the community. We need to be partnered with others who will help us stay fixed on the goal, stay true to the call.
That, I believe, is what “especially” means in verse ten. Not that Christians are more worthy of good works or acts of kindness than non-Christians. But that we are always on the look out for ways to cultivate the kind of relationships that will keep us connected, that will build up the body.
We are looking for and creating the kind of relationships whereby we are transformed by those who have come into our lives. We are made better, we are encouraged and equipped to be better, to serve with passion, to care with love. We have been remade for good, and we will continue to serve as long as we stay connected. We will not grow weary as long as we are sustained by the body of Christ.
Paul’s argument, then, would be that people do come into our lives for a reason, and we are in other people’s lives for a reason. And that reason is to be shaped for service in the name of Christ. And to be so shaped for good.
Shalom,
Derek
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