Matthew 10:1-8
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to he-al every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy and drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
Divide the work to succeed as a whole
Anyone holding a mission is a leader. But no matter how excellent a leader may be, there are always things that they cannot see. Leaders often have a strong tendency to do work on their own. And although there is some work that you need to do by yourself, there is also work that should be divided up among many people.
Even God divides up the work He carries out on the earth. He works through nature, through angels, through people of mission, and through every person according to their position. God carries out tremendous work by distributing it. You, too, have to distribute work and time well. This applies to politics, families, and churches. When people are unable to distribute the work, disharmony and division occur among them. With COVID-19, too, it’s not going to come to an end just because one person is careful. Every single person has to join in and do well; then, the coronavirus pandemic can end.
Gain strength through training and experience
The head does the work of the head, so the body must do the work of the body. Just as each part of the body has its own unique responsibility, each person should be entrusted with work according to their strengths and individuality. If work is not entrusted to the appropriate person and hence fails to be completed, it becomes a loss. Therefore, each part of the body, and each person, should gradually be given work to do so that they become trained and strengthened to handle even greater work. If they aren’t doing a good job, rather than taking their work away from them, teach them and help them learn how to do it.
Work while centering on the head
Although there are various parts of the body, each part must work while centering on the head. If they don’t, then that part of the body—medically speaking—is crippled because it cannot do its work properly. In the same way, when carrying out God’s work, we must work centering on the Lord who is the head.
Get work done on time by working together
Life is short. So, how can you fulfill everything in such a short time? By working together with each other and with the Lord. When work overlaps, discuss it, divide up the work according to each person’s individuality, and get it done quickly according to God’s timing.
God’s work must be completed at the right time. To do so, many people have to work in conjunction with each other so that the work can be done quickly. When Jesus first began spreading the Gospel, he did it by himself. But then, by observing people’s attitudes, actions, talents, and unique abilities, Jesus chose the 12 disciples and taught them how to carry out history. Just as Jesus did, we have to entrust people with work. When the work is finished at the right time, both God and the people involved are happy and rejoice together.
