A Partnership

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:4-6, Bold added)

Do you ever think of yourself as in a partnership with God and with Jesus? You may be surprised to learn that this is exactly the way God set up our role in this world: Not to be employees, but actual partners. 

What would it look like if you learned to live this way? 

Most of us have never thought of ourselves as partners with God. It seems arrogant and presumptuous to think we could actually be partners with God Almighty, El Shaddai, creator of the heavens and earth! And yet, from the first garden until the next garden (The new Heaven and the new Earth) and even in between, God’s design has always been to work with us as he works through us.  

In the first garden: 

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Gen. 2:15) 

…what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? … 6  You made them rulers - in partnership with you – over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet … (Psalm 8:4,6 Italics added) 

This sounds like a partnership to me. 

In the next garden (The new Heaven and the new Earth): 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Matt. 25:34) 

And in Between: 

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God, – in partnership with us, – has been making it grow. …   9  For we are co-workers in God’s service … (1 Corin. 3:5,6,9 Bold added) 

Dallas Willard puts it this way: 

Then we begin to understand that God’s whole purpose is to bring us to the point where He can walk with us quietly, calmly and constantly, leaving us space to grow to be His (often fumbling) collaborators – to have some distance from Him and yet to be united – in partnership – with Him because we are being conformed to the image of His son, bearing the family resemblance.   (Hearing God) 

A partnership. 

How would it change the way you live your day-to-day life if you learned to view yourself as a valuable member of your Heavenly Father’s team – with a role to play in his Kingdom? I hope it would motivate you to live proactively, being aware of opportunities to be of value, and seeking ways to do your part. 

May you learn to see yourself as playing a vital role in God’s Kingdom business, and may this motivate you to be more proactive with those in your sphere of influence in the advancement of his Kingdom?