I was talking with some friends yesterday about how we, Christians, have to work together to accomplish the work of God and how disappointing it is when we can’t make it work. Many times things don’t get done, projects get interrupted, relationships are broken, and people simply don’t get along so the work of God doesn’t get finished (and sometimes it doesn’t even get started). Sometimes we are involved in the problem and other times we watch things unfold and wonder what happened, what went wrong?

So I shared with my friends that when I went to work for a church, I didn’t have any huge expectations and I said to myself three things:

I am going to work for a church not heaven
I work with humans not angels
I am a Christian not a saint and I will work with other Christians, not saints.

Having no expectations of working in a church and it being any better than working in a secular environment really helped me be successful. I also built wonderful long-lasting relationships along the way. I treat people the same way whether I work in the secular arena or in a ministry. It doesn’t really matter. I had work to do at both places and my strategy worked. I accomplished much and never burnt any bridges. I now have friends everywhere.

You see, wherever we go and whatever the place of work we happen to be at, there will be people. Personalities and work styles get in the way. Egos and conflict can arise and bridges can be burnt if we are not careful. Problems need to be dealt with and we need to work together and collaborate regardless of our own opinions, for the sake of the bigger vision. In the case of Christians, for the sake of the Gospel—to fulfill the Great Commission and work for the Kingdom of God.

We must all put our differences aside, move on and do our work. We are all His laborers and He needs each of us to fulfill our calling. Let’s finish the race. Let’s finish the work that God has asked us to do, together as brothers and sisters in Christ. I will leave you with these wonderful Scriptures today:

Ephesians 4:1 (NLT)

Unity in the Body

4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

Philippians 3:14 (NLT)

14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.