But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: 2 Corinthians 8:16-19
Again we see the Apostle Paul referring to Titus for his service and dedication to the Church. Now we hear the name the Apostle Paul alot, he wrote over half the New Testament, he was a vessel for Jesus Christ (Acts 9:15) However Paul was just one part of the Body of Christ, just as Titus is another part, and you are another part. It's important to understand the "Church concept" that nobody does anything by themselves, we are all the Body of Christ and all Glory goes to God
We see Paul mentioning brother Titus to the Church "Thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you" Paul didn't accomplish anything on his own accord, just as we don't accomplish anything on our own accord. We need to reply upon each other as the body of Christ, and we need to rely upon the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us. When you understand this is a group effort, then you understand the reason for the Church. We are all one in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Paul mentions another individual who is not even name "We have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the Churches" People who are driven by the flesh would want their name in lights, however those who are driven by the Holy Spirit, are looking to give God glory and not themselves. This brother was obviously highly respected by the Churches, yet it didn't matter what his name was, because he was a servant of Christ!
We as Christians, as part of the Body of Christ, can learn from this. Do we need credit or glory for everything we do at Church? Everything we do is for the Glory of God and our Lord knows everything you have done. We don't need the credit from men, we just need to be faithful in our calling to Love God and Love our Neighbor
Another point to make is , are you active in your local Church? The idea of being a "lone wolf" is not Biblical. How can you be part of the body of Christ, when you reject the rest of the body? None of the work done by the Church was possible without the group effort of the Church. If you want to know why you should belong to a local Church, its because you can't fulfill your calling unless you are part of a Church, because you are the Church!
Working to build the Kingdom of God is an amazing calling and an overwhelming thought. Everything you do for God is for eternal purposes, one day we can look back with our fellow brothers and sisters and see what we have labored for , filled with the Holy Spirit and obedient to our Lord , Amen!
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