The Church’s Big Task

In recent years the “gig economy” or “sharing economy” has become so prevalent that, according to Pew research, 72 percent of American adults have used one of its sharing or on-demand services. Every day, companies like Uber, Thumbtack, and TaskRabbit match available workers with jobs.

As an apostle, Paul had been given a very specific task by God. Earlier in Paul’s life, he had dedicated himself to persecuting the church. He used his energy to stop the spread of the good news of Christ.

But from the moment of his conversion on the Damascus road, Paul’s life took an entirely different direction (see Acts 9:1–19). From that day, he was “set apart for the gospel of God” (v. 1) to “call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (v. 5). No longer would he squelch the gospel and stomp on the church. Instead, he would lead the church to proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ to all nations.

The people to whom Paul wrote also had a calling. The church at Rome was made up of individuals who each, like Paul, belonged to Jesus Christ. They had been used in a variety of ways in the church, but they shared a common faith (see Rom. 16:1–16). Together with the Apostles, they could trace the promises of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament until His appearing (v. 2). They knew firsthand the love of God, and they worshiped Christ as Lord (vv. 4, 7). And as we see in Romans 1:8, their obvious and active faith had far-reaching, evangelistic effects.

Marked by the preaching of the gospel and the exercise of our faith, the church today receives its job from the Lord: “His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known” (Eph. 3:10).

Pray with Us

Again, we bring before the Lord the Music department faculty: Elizabeth Naegele, Desiree Hassler, Jori Jennings, and Terry Strandt. We ask the Lord to guide them as they share God’s gift of music with their students and concert audiences.

BY Megan Hill

Megan Hill serves on the editorial board for Christianity Today and is a regular contributor to CT Women and The Gospel Coalition website. She is the author of Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer: In Our Homes, Communities, and Churches, and a graduate of Grove City College. She lives in West Springfield, Mass., with her husband and four children.