Little Thorns

        Are you growing in your service for the Lord? We seem to have a tendency to act a certain way and then when some of our acquaintances arrive, we act differently. As I look back on my ministries in the churches in which we have served, I made a lot of mistakes in each and every one of them. In my defense however, I would like to think that I have been growing in my own spiritual life through the past 40 years and my ministries should be reflecting some type of improvement. In most of my positions, I was an associate pastor except for one church where I was the pastor and my later ministry as a pastoral counselor. Every ministry has been a place of growing for me personally but often at the expense of the people I was serving. The following account from the life of Peter gives me hope. Galatians 2:11-12 says, “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.”

        Peter seemed to be concerned about the appearances of things in his ministry. When no one was around, Peter would eat with the Gentiles. After all, Peter had the vision of the sheet and had been involved with Cornelius and so was accustomed to being associated with the Gentiles. That was the way things were until someone showed up in town from the “circumcision.” Peter apparently got a little nervous and would depart from the Gentiles. Maybe he was a little nervous about being seen with a group of people that would present a problem to the people of the circumcision. The point here is that Paul brought the matter up to Peter and confronted him with his error. This would prove to be a learning point for Peter. Let us not forget that Peter was a leading person in the ministry in those days but apparently, not perfect because he also was human. Who is it in your life that would cause you embarrassment should you be seen with them in public? It might be a group from another church on the other side of town or perhaps people of a different race or people perhaps that believe differently than some of your friends. You may be afraid that the question might come up, “How do you know them?” What would your answer be? As Peter, we might be concerned about what people might think about us. Peter would walk away from the Gentiles and not be seen with them while the people of the Circumcision were present. As in all of our lives, we are still growing spiritually speaking. If we are not in a time of growth, then sin has come into our lives and we need to deal with that. I might say that in every position that I have had, there has been at least one “thorn in the flesh” that is, someone that questions my way of doing things or my abilities. I guess that is a good thing. There are no perfect churches or ministries. There are those that are better than others but none of them are perfect. The saying goes, “Look for the perfect church. Join it and then it is not perfect anymore.” That means that the imperfection of any given ministry is on your own shoulders and not on that of someone else. God worked in the life of Peter and Peter died for the Lord Jesus Christ in the end. God is still working in the lives of each and everyone of us. When you ask yourself, “Why did I just do that?” just remember that you are now in a growing situation and learn from it and go ahead in your work for the LORD. Praise God that He is not finished with us yet.