With it they paid those who worked on the temple of the Lord—the carpenters and builders, the masons and stonecutters. (2 Kings 12:11–12)
“HOW WAS YOUR MEETING?” I asked Heather on her return from a gathering of educators. My wife teaches English and is department chair for her campus.
“Ugh,” she said. “We spent most of the time in teams, writing a new course outline.”
“So it was ‘group work’?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Seems like a waste of time. Any of us could have done it alone in half the time.”
“Um, isn’t that what your students say about group work?”
Heather laughed. “Yep,” she said, “And I always tell them, ‘It’s good for you!’”
Rebuilding the house of the Lord was not a project for Joash alone, or even the priests by themselves. This was a house of prayer for all God’s people, and all of them had to be involved. From those who made small donations, to those who administered the project, to the stonecutters who did the work, everyone had a role to play.
The same is true today. It’s tempting to believe that we can go it alone. We don’t need the help and support of the body. We think our ideas are best, and other people only slow us down. Not so. The church is the church only when it includes everyone. In your own spiritual growth, and in the mission of God in the world, you need the help and support of others.
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Lawrence W. Wilson is the author of A Different Kind of Crazy (WPH) and coauthor of The Long Road Home (WPH). He lives in central Indiana and blogs at www.lawrencewilson.com.
© 2018 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
