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.
