![[Photo of
Joseph Tkach]](http://www.wcg.org/gifs/jtphoto.jpg)
As I write this over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I am
reminded that we should be thankful first and foremost for God's
love for us. Every good gift comes from our Father in heaven, and he works
all things for good for those who love him. He even
grants us the confidence to know that he will always provide what we really
need.
"Give thanks always," Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:20. We are to be thankful for everything. Admittedly, this is hard to do, as I explained at our first employee chapel meeting Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 22. It is difficult to rejoice in our trials.
For example, when Corrie Ten Boom was imprisoned in a World War II concentration camp, she found it difficult to be thankful for the fleas in the barracks. But her sister insisted that they should give thanks for all things, so they thanked God even for the fleas. As the weeks went by, they began to realize that the fleas were indeed a blessing in disguise. Because of the fleas, the guards stayed out of the barracks, and the women had relative privacy and freedom inside the barracks--freedom to talk and freedom to read a Bible. They could be thankful even for fleas!
Trials are unpleasant when we are in them, but afterward they yield a peaceable fruit of righteousness. God works all things for good. He knows the future benefits, but we rarely do.
When I was terminated from the church's employ in 1976, I grieved the loss of my job as a ministerial trainee. My plans for my future were shattered. Although I obtained another job, I still mourned my loss, not understanding why the Lord had taken away what he had given. Eventually I realized that I was earning twice as much money as I had been as a ministerial trainee, and I had been able to buy a house, which I would not have been able to do before. Even more significant, but unknown to me at the time, was the fact that I was gaining experience that would help me minister more effectively in the future.
Some of our employees are facing terminations. Other members are already unemployed. God does not guarantee that we will be able to find a new job at twice the salary. Indeed, for some it is quite the opposite. God has different lessons in mind for each of us. He is preparing each of us in different ways, according to his love and great wisdom. But we are assured that he works all things for good for those who love him, and if we trust him in this, we can give thanks for all things. In our varied experiences, we each mature and, through our experiences, we become better equipped to serve others.
Luke tells us that Jesus once healed 10 lepers, but only one returned to thank him (Luke 17:11-19). No doubt the others were thankful, too, but only one took the time to come back and express his thanks. He didn't just say thank you--he threw himself at Jesus' feet and praised God in a loud voice. He was not afraid to be a public witness to the great gift he had been given.
And yet Christ has given us something of far greater value than even physical healing from a dreadful disease. Far greater value than houses, cars and income. He has given us eternal life. He has cleansed us from the leprosy of sin. Shouldn't we be thankful, and shouldn't we express our thanks, not ashamed to be seen praising God? In the past, sometimes we acted as if the gift were confidential. Now, we are encouraged to let our joy be known, and I am thankful for that.
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:15-17).
Be thankful, Paul says--but don't stop there! We should also show our thanks. We should thank one another for the help we receive from one another, but the main emphasis in the New Testament is that we thank God for what he does. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
As I wrote in the co-worker letter, I am thankful for all the ministers and members to whom God has given the vision and who are eagerly supporting the church in the work our Lord has set before us. It encourages me greatly to see how many have been led by the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures into a revival of faith, a reawakening of our "first love"--a love for Jesus Christ, a love for the Word of God, a love for doing the work he has called us to do! Thank you all for your faithfulness in the commission we have been given.
The harvest is great, my friends, and we need more workers. But unfortunately, we cannot afford to hire them. In fact, we will have to terminate more employees--perhaps as many as 100, Bernie Schnippert wrote in a recent all-employee memo. Our financial team says that we should prepare for an income that is about 10 percent below our planned budget, so these terminations are unfortunately necessary.
We have already decided to close Imperials Schools after the school year is completed in June. Imperial has been a great benefit to our employees and local members, but we cannot afford to subsidize it any longer. Moreover, since we hope to sell the property, we do not want to encumber the sale with contractual obligations to keep the school open. We made this decision now to enable our teachers to apply for jobs in other schools and to give our students' parents time to make plans for next school year.
Members, you are well aware that the ministers' workload has expanded. Church circuits are larger, and some responsibilities are greater, though other duties have been eased. Stress takes its toll, and we feel the urgency of praying for more laborers.
Take a look around you. Not only are the fields white and ready for harvest, there are already many laborers in the fields. The main problem is, they aren't all laboring! You see, the work of harvesting is not reserved for the ordained ministers alone--all members are encouraged to participate in the harvest. Many already are, but we need to expand the role of the members.
Jesus commands us to make disciples. He commands us to teach and to help each Christian mature in the faith. Therefore, we want to help our members grow in grace and knowledge, and to recognize and use the gifts that the Holy Spirit is giving them. God places members in the body as it pleases him, and he gives them gifts for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:4-27). Therefore, for the maximum growth and health of the church, we want each member to use his or her gifts, working together, being led by Jesus Christ to build the church up (Ephesians 4:11-16).
There is much that we could say about spiritual gifts, and we hope to expand on this subject in coming months, but right now I want to highlight a few simple facts:
Therefore, we want to encourage members to do the work God has called them to do. We want them to use the gifts God has given. This mutual service is what builds the church internally, helps it function in its mission and helps it grow by attracting and incorporating new members. Every member has a role in ministering to others. But each member must perform that role in such a way that it builds up the whole body, not tears down the body.
This is part of the great commission. Jesus told his disciples to make disciples and teach them to obey everything he commanded them (Matthew 28:19-20). It is to be an endless cycle: The disciples become disciplers. Those who are taught become teachers. We all do this in different ways, of course, according to the gifts God supplies, but we all do have a part to play in the work of the body of Christ.
Each member should serve. Each member should minister (which simply means "to give aid or service") to others. Each member has a ministry, that is, a way in which God has gifted him or her to serve in the kingdom work of the church. Each member is a minister of Jesus Christ. The church is a royal priesthood, Peter wrote (1 Peter 2:9), and each member has a priestly role, interceding in prayer for others, serving one another's needs, bearing one another's burdens and sharing in the work of the gospel.
This is an important part of our vision for the future of the church. We want all members to grow and participate in the work. We do not have the money to hire every worker, of course, nor should we want to. The Bible presents a picture of every member doing some work. Church pastors serve in the role of administrative leadership, facilitating the work of Christ's loved ones--casting the joyous vision of their calling to Christ's kingdom, praying for them, training them, developing them, empowering them, encouraging them, advising them, supporting them--and, of course, preaching the word--all supervised by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures.
We have much to do--so much that it usually seems overwhelming. That's because we often only see with physical eyes. But when we look with the eyes of faith, we are assured of Jesus' promise: He has unlimited power, and he is with us always (Matthew 28: 18, 20). He will turn our trials into good, our tears into joy. We are thankful for that, and thankful to be called into the work of the King of kings. Like the Samaritan leper, we fall on our knees before Jesus and praise the Lord for what he has done for us! We have been cleansed, and like Isaiah, we say: "Here I am, O Lord. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:5-8).
Three weeks ago a few of us met with Christian entertainer Pat Boone concerning a video of him singing inspirational Christian hymns in the land of Israel. We are offering this video to our subscribers for a suggested donation (see page 11). This will offer a service our readers will appreciate and give us experience in handling such material as a viable and appropriate means of raising funds to help begin to meet the costs of the publications.
We have also entered another round of field conferences in the United States. These focus on the theme of spiritual healing, something God is graciously granting us. We have a great need to understand spiritual healing and to take part in helping our members experience it.
Our doctrinal changes, although they have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and are true to the word of God and a cause for great thanksgiving, can also be unsettling and destabilizing, as we all know.
We look to the Scriptures and to Jesus Christ for the healing that we need--peace within ourselves, peace within our fellowship, peace with other Christians and, most importantly, peace with God.
[ Worldwide Church of God | The Worldwide News | The Worldwide News - December 19, 1995 ]
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