READ: 2 Corinthians 3:4-5 NLT
'We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified
to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God.'
Qualifications are important. You can’t deny it. If I catch the train to London I want to be sure that the driver is qualified! If a surgeon operates on me I would be very concerned to know that they knew what they were doing, and had passed all the appropriate exams. The question is, what qualifies someone to do God’s work? God’s work is of eternal importance so we need to know exactly what kind of qualifications are needed.
There are any number of courses in biblical study and Christian ministry, and I am sure that they are all excellent in different ways. It is wonderful that there are so many courses, face to face and online, through which we can be trained to work for God. But don’t for a moment imagine that those paper qualifications are all that you need to do God’s work. What you need is the qualification of knowing that God’s hand is upon your life and that he is directing, inspiring and enabling the work that you are doing. Paul sums it up neatly with the words, “our qualification comes from God.”
I thank God for the privilege of going to college to study the Bible and for able scholars who helped me to understand how to interpret it. I even thank God for the exams which made sure that I worked hard to remember large passages of Scripture and how to apply what I had been taught. All of that was very valuable but none of it can, by itself, qualify someone to do God’s work. Whether you are a minister, a member of a worship band, a pastoral worker, an administrator, a treasurer or a children’s or youth worker what you need before anything else is to know that your confidence is in God, and in God alone. Look out for good courses to help you to improve your knowledge and skills but your qualification lies in your relationship with God.




QUESTION: If you love God how are you using that qualification to bless other people?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you that you call us to work for you and that you always equip those whom you call. Amen.

Released on 28 Jan 2021