It does not really matter....

I was invited to give a talk to a group of lay ministers in one of the churches in Manila. I looked at them and they were the people who were so involved in their service to the church. In my heart, I felt inadequate to give a talk to these people who are so decent and holy.

I was thinking when I was in front of them what to share with them. What would be the subject most fitting to the group? They were always having their retreats and recollections regularly with high ranking priests. And in my silence, I prayed that God would give me the wisdom to speak the appropriate topic that would enhance their faith in God. So instead of me giving a talk, I asked each one just one question and told them to answer it with all honesty.

The question was this, "what moved you to decide to serve the Lord as lay ministers?" Each one of them stood up and told his story. There were about forty gentlemen. And there were lots of reasons; like, one said, his wife was serving and he was just waiting outside the church, so instead of waiting, he might as well join her serve in the church.

Others said, they had nothing to do, others said, they were invited by friends and they could not say no. Others said, they were already retired and they were not use to staying at home. Some said, there was nothing to lose since it was only once or twice a week. I waited for someone to say that he serves because he loves the Lord, or maybe, he wants to show his gratitude. But I never heard any of those reasons.

I asked them as to how long have been serving in the church. I learned that most of them were serving for quite a long time already, for years and they were still there, truly dedicated and giving most of their time in service for the Lord. They have already forgotten as to how they started. Service is no longer a pastime for them, they are taking seriously the challenge of serving God with all their hearts. Then I came to understand that, it really does not matter how we are called. What matters is we said Yes to His calling and He will do the rest. And without them knowing it, they reached the point at which they were enjoying serving the Lord with enthusiasm, focus and passion.

At the end of the talk, I thanked God for giving them the opportunity and privilege to serve Him. Though these people were reluctant to serve at the beginning, He turned their hearts to serve with joy and enthusiasm.

Truly, it really does not matter how we are called, we just have to say Yes to God.