Life Ministries

    In the book of I Corinthians, Paul twice uses the ox as a symbol for the preaching ministers.

I Cor. 5:18 & 9:9 Paul says those who preach the gospel are worthy of their hire and not to be muzzled --- like the ox who treads out grain and is allowed to eat some of it in the process. Naturally, the Ox is not the symbol I might tend to choose to illustrate the preacher. An ox is not the brightest creature on earth … But maybe that’s part of the point Paul was making!
    While we are dealing with the symbol of the ox, we might also want to pay attention to the symbol of the barn. The Proverb reminds us “Where no oxen are, the barn is clean.”(some versions say “crib” or “manger”) If you take the barn as a symbol of life, the tension is between beauty and productivity. Repeating the question, “Would you rather have your barn clean or filled? Knowing what the purpose of a barn is, - namely - to store a big harvest, the answer should be obvious.
    Let’s make some personal applications to your life. Too many of us waste our time looking for a “clean barn.” We want a job that gives us fulfillment, we want a marriage that is constant romance and bliss, we want children that never make a mess, or parents that always give us what we want. But let me tell you, the “clean barn” is a myth. All families have problems. All jobs are unpleasant sometimes. Life is messy! Instead of longing for the clean barn we need to look for ways to fill the barn (life) we’ve been given.
    Maybe this week we can all make a resolution to be thankful for our messy tasks – the car that needs an oil change, dishes than need to be washed, the diapers that need to be changed. Every messy job you have to do this week proves one thing. It proves you’re alive well, and living on planet earth.
    I think the barn of Proverbs 14:4 can also be a symbol of the church. It’s human nature to want the church to be a constant “sanctuary”- a place of peace, tranquility, and beauty. We want the services to be smooth and perfect. We want the facilities to be attractive and spotless. We want the people to talk in quiet voices and always get along. But that’s just not the way it is in a living and active congregation. Nor is it what God intends. The only way to have a neat, spic-n-span, tranquil, church is to have an empty church. Because PEOPLE (have you noticed) are MESSY.
    So as God’s servants, we enter into people business --- a business that is sometimes messy, loud, and frustrating, unnerving, unpredictable…did I say frustrating? And we need patience, a good sense of humor, tons of grace and forgiveness, the ability to like the unlikable, the Holy Spirit’s guidance and the Agape love of Jesus…And who knows, maybe even an ox or two.