Is it Biblical?

There are things that Christians say to each other that sound good in the moment, but often check out to be false, or unbiblical. Most of the time I don’t think people intentionally do this. In fact, I think most are trying to be helpful, but in the end up propagating an untruth that can be subtly damaging. 

Take this seemingly innocuous statement I heard the other week: “just make yourself available to God and He will use you.” Taken at face value, it sounds like a compelling call to service. But does it necessarily follow that when I make myself available that God will use me? Embedded in this statement is a hidden message that my usefulness is self-initiated. Not only that, it implies that service is somehow about reaching my potential. 

The final point is not that we realize our usefulness, but the power of God for salvation. The Apostle Paul recognized this when he stated that he and the other apostles had “this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this surpassing power belongs to God and not to [them].” (2 Corinthians 4:7) Furthermore, they understood that it was the love of Christ that compelled their service (2 Corinthians 5:14-15), and not the enticement of being used by God. In fact, God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, so can it really be about me (1 Corinthians 2:2-5)? We also see early on in the lives of the patriarchs - Abraham, Moses, David to name a few - an imperfect and sometimes reluctant bunch - that they were all ultimately heralded for their faith (Hebrews 11), and not their usefulness. Furthermore, we know that as members of the body of Christ we have been gifted by the Holy Spirit upon salvation to build the church and we are not lacking in any gift (1 Corinthians 1:7). 

All this is not to say that there is nothing of our own accord that must be done to build the church of Christ. The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few (Luke 10:2). We must go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Yet our correct motivation is our response to the greatness of our salvation (Galatians 2:20). He alone is worthy. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21).