About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

Called To Co-operate

I understand the controversy over whether Mark actually penned the last few verses of his gospel account, but nevertheless, Mark 16:20 is in line with New Testament thinking concerning the Christian's, and thus the church's, interaction with Jesus as it pertains to fulfilling God's will.  Mark 16:20 reads:

"Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it."

Mark 16:20 tells us that while the disciples preached the gospel, Jesus confirmed their message with some kind of signs.  I believe Jesus still performs the signs Mark 16:20 speaks of.  As Christians, therefore, we perform the manual labour of preaching while Jesus provides the spiritual element required to effectively implement the message into the lives of those to whom we preach.   Christians, and thus the church, are meant to implement the will of God in co-operation with Jesus.  If we fail to do our part in the way God requires, we prevent Jesus from effectively doing His part.        

Both Jesus and us as Christians have our specific responsibilities in the implementation of God's plans.  Understanding our place in God's scheme of things has been a struggle for Christians and the church throughout history.  We tend at times to usurp Jesus' role in fulfilling God's will.  A good preacher and a finely tuned worship team can easily persuade people to an altar of prayer, leaving the Spirit of Jesus on the sideline.  On the other hand, many of us sit back in our pews, expecting Jesus to do all of the work.       

There is a Biblical balance in the process of implementing God's will.  Jesus has His duties to perform and we have our duties to perform.  It's a co-operative effort.  We have a serious responsibility.  I feel humbled that the Almighty Creator God has called little old me, and you too, alongside Himself to implement His will on this planet.  We are called to co-operate.