Galatians 2:7
On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised…”
Paul is finishing up his defense of his apostolic ministry, showing the Galatians that he had in fact been chosen, approved, and entrusted by the LORD himself to bring the Gospel to the Gentile world. Additionally, he also discusses the approval of the leaders of the early church—Peter, John, and James—so that his audience knows he has their backing as well. In fact, Paul’s preaching of the gospel was so solid that these church “fathers” could add noting to it! We should all be in such a position when it comes to handling the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today’s verse points us the fact that we all have One Lord…but many different callings. Paul had been called to reach the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) while Peter had been called to focus on reaching Jewish people. This doesn’t mean they never had a chance to engage people outside their main focus—both of them did that regularly—but their ministries did have a particular flavor. Is there a group of people you have an identifiable burden for when it comes to sharing the gospel? A group of people God has placed on your heart so that every time you encounter them or think about them the weight of their lostness impacts you? It could be co-workers or neighbors…teenagers or the elderly…our immigrant population or perhaps a group of people somewhere else in the world.
You may also have a burden for a particular group of people when it comes to discipleship, rather than just the sharing of the gospel. I have been involved with high school and college-aged people since I was a college student myself. Before I was saved at 28…and for most of my years since then. I’ve led them in Sunday School and for the past nine years I have taught them (and discipled them) in Civics and Christian Ethics. My wife and I have always had a burden for the friends of our four children…those that know the Lord and those that don’t. We have not always been faithful to that mission field, but it has stayed on our radar screen for years. I believe it is a matter of both context AND calling. God uses our past, our gifting, and our current context to show us the way.
Back to you.
If God has “entrusted you with the gospel” with respect to a particular group of people, or even a particular individual, what are you doing with that burden? Nehemiah might be a good person to study as a pattern for a way to move forward. Early on in his story he learns of the condition of Jerusalem— “in great trouble and shame”—and it broke his heart. He wept for days, and after a time of prayer and fasting, he decided to do something about it and asked for God’s favor and guidance (Neh 1:11). After getting approval from his “boss” to take what amounts to a leave of absence, he traveled to Jerusalem, surveyed the problems, made a plan…and the rest is history!
Looking at Paul, Peter, and Nehemiah as models for our ministry lives may be intimidating…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t relevant and/or helpful. The size of the mission is not what’s important, but rather, the fact that the LORD has placed a burden on your heart for a certain person or group of people. Own that. Pray about it. Do something about it. Your life—and the Kingdom—will be better for it. So will the life or lives of those you desire to reach.
