The Christian’s relationship at times is unfathomable. For this reason, it may be difficult to conceive that believers can actually minister to the Lord. Yet, the pages of God’s word declare that it is not only possible but a big part of being saved. Ministering to the Lord is done by fulfilling the ministry of the word, the ministry of reconciliation, and the ministry of the saints. Additionally, you can visualize it by considering that ministering to the Lord is accomplished when believers do anything that offers God the praise and honour due Him. In Acts chapter 13, the believers “ministered unto the Lord” and though the passage does not offer specifics on what this entailed, an understanding of the previously mentioned ministries sheds light on their efforts.
As is common with church growth, problems arose very early in the church at Jerusalem. Acts chapter 6 tells us of the Grecians who began to murmur against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected (Acts 6:1). The apostles chose not to ignore the problem but to tackle it head on. Yet, they understood their primary responsibilities of not leaving their study of the word of God in order to focus on handling the strife. The apostles instructed the disciples in the church to choose seven men to deal with this particular issue and similar issues that might arise later (Acts 6:3). The Bible also points out that the apostles determined to give themselves “continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). They understood that their study and distribution of the word of God was to take the preeminence in their ministry.
Most of us would assume that the Lord laughed at some point during His earthly ministry, yet the scripture never focuses on this point. Rather, the scripture seems to focus on the fact that He was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). We know very little of any laughter, yet we do know that He wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35). He further lamented over Jerusalem because of their rebellion (Luke 13:34). We also know that He sighed at the healing of the deaf man who had a speech impediment (Mark 7:34). Heaven affords the Lord great rejoicing, yet His earthly ministry was consumed by heartache rather than mirth. This most likely was a result of dealing with the consequences of man’s sin.
Most people would readily admit that they would rather laugh than cry. Yet, these are not God’s thoughts concerning the matter (Isaiah 55:8-9). According to the Bible, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). Laughter seems much more enjoyable than sorrow, yet life’s lessons are learned much faster from sorrow than they are from amusement. Sorrow teaches us and molds us into better servants for the Lord. This does not mean that laughter is evil or harmful. It simply means that from God’s perspective, sorrow is a much better teacher. Solomon bluntly spoke of what he knew concerning laughter in Ecclesiastes 2:1-2. The Bible says that Solomon gave himself to mirth and pleasure. In the end, he found this mirth and pleasure to be vain.
