Many of us associate ministry with the act of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, a minister is often solely described as “one officiating or assisting the officiant in church worship.” But contrary to popular belief, ministry goes well beyond the act of preaching to a congregation or evangelism. Ministry can also be an act of one serving others.
In Matthew 25: 34-46 NIV, Jesus teaches us about the true meaning of ministry, where He describes the difference between those who are willing to serve others and those who are only inclined to serving themselves.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
Matthew 25:34-46 NIV
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
When one is eager to serve others, which may be in the form of helping someone, taking care of the sick, or feeding the poor, one is truly showing an act of ministry. With this, in addition to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, one must be willing to be an active servant of God by willingly caring for the needs of others.
Overall, in this video, I share a brief prophetic word explaining the importance of ministry—specifically for those who work in public service industries. Indeed, people who hold public service positions such as doctors, teachers, police officers, public officials, etc.) are very important in our society, for which we rely on their acts of service to fulfill our most crucial needs.
