Instruments of Christ’s Success
Fellow believer and minister of the gospel—take heart. The Lord knows of your service for Him.
Regardless of the immediate visible results of our ministries, God honors the faithful minister even today in his high calling. The work of pastors, [Jonathan] Edwards said, “is to be the instruments of Christ’s success in the work of redemption, which God looks on and speaks of as the most glorious of all his works.”
There is nothing nobler than a servant of the living God who defies the world but has the ear and heart of a disciple regarding the Scriptures. As a pastor, be a faithful guide to God’s pilgrims. Men will try to mold you into their image of a minister. Resist them and submit to God, serving Him with gladness. He has His eye upon you. He extends His hand of blessing toward you and has laid up for you a crown of glory to reward you on the last day. [Joel Beeke and Terry Slachter, Encouragement for Today’s Pastors: Help from the Puritans]
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
