It’s NOT business, IT’S Personal
By Elin Henderson
“To Timothy,
a true son in the faith….”
1
Timothy 1:2a (NKJV, emphasis added)
I’ve been struck by the personal
nature of Paul’s letters throughout the Epistles. He wasn’t just writing to the
corporate church but he wrote to individuals, addressing their needs, their
struggles, their highs, their lows. He knew people by name and was specific in
his encouragements to them.
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. Erastus
stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick…Eubulus
greets you, as well as Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the
brethren” (2 Timothy 4:19-21, emphasis added). These were Paul’s friends; this
wasn’t a business letter and his ministry was not a business negotiation. It
was a friendly letter with a few business points.
Discipleship is of a personal nature.
Sometimes in ministry, I find myself forgetting this principle. I get stuck in
the rut of what I have “to-do” each day. The list gets checked off and business
gets done, but the personal side suffers.
It’s the one-on-one, the person-to-person
“face-time” that makes the difference in people’s lives. Jesus blazed the path
as the forerunner and Paul left a remarkable example, as well. Look through the
New Testament and keep track of how many personal names and personal details
are poured out in the words written.
Hey, I love a checklist as much as
the next gal, but my prayer each day is that I will see beyond the list and the
business that has to get done, to the personal side and the people behind it.
GOING DEEPER:
1. What’s your business “to-do” list look like
today? How can you look beyond it to the personal side of things?
2. Read through the Proverbs 31 woman’s life. How
did she meld the personal and business in life?
FURTHER READING:
Oakwood’s
missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as
church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique,
Africa. Elin is mother to fourteen-year-old
Callie and twelve-year-old Elias.
