BE A FAITHFUL PARTNER

What does it mean to be a partner? A partner is a person with whom you do things because of a common interest or goal. As Christians, God has invited us into partnership with His Son, Jesus (see 1 Corinthians 1:9). This means we’ve been called to work alongside Jesus to accomplish His purpose. So, what brought Jesus to earth, why did He leave His heavenly throne, and what is His purpose?

 Right from the beginning, in the book of Genesis, Jesus was introduced as the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s head (see Genesis 3:15). Later, John the Baptist’s introduction of Jesus answers the question about why Jesus came. John said of Jesus, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And again, on another occasion, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:29; 36). Jesus announced His mission like this: “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” And again, “I sacrifice my life for the sheep…. The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.” (John 10:10; 15; 17-18). Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth, therefore, was to pay the penalty for our sins, which is death (see Romans 3:23), and restore our relationship with the Father.

Since we’ve established Jesus’ purpose, we can conclude what our partnership with Him is to accomplish: soul-winning and growing the church into the image of Christ. For this reason, He chose disciples (us), and gave us the Spirit to identify us as His own, as well as power and authority, and then commissioned us, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).      

Now that we know exactly what our partnership calls for, let’s get busy and obey. Our partnership is with Jesus, but also with each other—God empowers us and we encourage each other, strategize, and then go. Even when we don’t go together, we fulfill different functions of spreading the gospel—one person might share (sow the seed), another person follows up (water the seed), God makes it grow, and another person gets to lead the individual to the Lord in prayer. And of course, all involved in the process should be praying for God to bring conviction and repentance. The apostle Paul expressed joy and gratitude to God for the partnership he had with the church in Philippi: “Whenever I pray, I make requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you heard it until now” (Philippians 1:5-6). 

Dear Christian, what have you been doing for Jesus, at home, work, in your neighborhood, and all the places you? Are you praying for people in any of these places? God has promised to be with us, so let’s not fear what people might say. He never fails! If you have been timid or have not taken this charge seriously, I encourage you to start now to be a faithful partner! Remember, your reward will be great in heaven. Partnerships don’t work very well when those involved don’t play their roles as they should.

In short, our responsibility in this partnership is to share the gospel earnestly and encourage converts to remain faithful to the Lord by studying the Word, prayers, and fellowship with believers. In addition, we should pray for them, and touch base with them often. May God be pleased with our efforts!