Unity Presbyterian Church

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

I may not be a great baker or cook, but I do enjoy making the attempt. One of my favorite recipes is confetti cake. You take a package of sprinkles and put some of the package in the batter and you withhold the remainder of the sprinkles until the cake is baked and iced and then sprinkle the remainder of the candy on top of the icing. The result is confetti on top and confetti inside the cake. Great for birthdays and serves 8-10 people.

But while you want to withhold some of the candy to put on the top of the cake, you don’t want to withhold anything to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. The context of this verse is Paul’s great chapter on resurrection and how the resurrection of Christ gives victory to those called into Christ. Since the body of Christ is loved and gifted by Christ and Christ withholds nothing from the Church, the Church can learn to love and give without withholding anything from God and from each other.

Do we as the Body of Christ in Ashtabula, Ohio give ourselves fully though? You keep some of the candy to put on later, do we withhold something from our community and from God for ourselves or do we fully give away ourselves? The most obvious concern is always our financial resources, which were important for the Corinthians to contribute to the collection for Jerusalem. But, what about our time and our spiritual gifts also? Do we withhold our time, doing what we will, or do we give our time, doing what Christ wills? What about our energy and intelligence, do we contribute them or withhold them for personal agendas and plans? I have no doubt that we give something, but do we truly give fully though?

Give yourselves to the work of the Lord. We can give ourselves fully to some things but what about the work of the Lord: fully to mission work, or fully to people work, or even fully to the work of merging together. I can rake the leaves, I can winterize the house and put all of myself into those chores, but can I give myself fully to the work of discernment that God is calling Unity into? The difficult and challenging work of study and correction, growth and transformation? Building relationships with strangers, struggling with new bylaws, policies and budgets? Or do we withhold our time and energy for other tasks and ignore and avoid these tasks commanded by Christ?

Perhaps the real struggle is that we are unsure that if we invest fully in this merging process that we will have real results worth the effort and hardship of growth. But if we give ourselves to this work of the Lord, we are reminded that we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. In vain means empty or without result. Perhaps the reason we withhold from God now, is because we want to know that our investment will have a payoff. But the nature of faith is not knowing the result before action but an action of entrusting oneself to God and allow God to bring forth the result.

We are at a critical time in the new life of The Unity Presbyterian Church of Ashtabula, where all of us are called to discern and to work out this new life together to which we have been called. That will only bring forth fruit to the glory of God if we all, give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Not to withhold for ourselves out of fear or anxiety but in faith, knowing that our work is not in vain, trusting and giving. Whether we are working on bylaws and policies, or furniture and food, let us give all of ourselves to the work, and allow God, as the Master Baker to create, and I think we will come to find that what God creates can be great for our Birth-Day and serve all. Amen.