The Key to The Human Heart --- My pastor's words have been proven true. I recently had the opportunity to serve in the emergency room of a small, rural community that had lost two of its three doctors. At first, the task seemed daunting since I would be working in a tiny hospital that didn't have all the high-tech equipment and specialized staff I was used to in big hospitals.

Every day I had to pray that God would help me see people as he saw them and treat them with acceptance, kindness, and love. I disciplined myself to take the time to really listen -- not only to my patients, but also to the staff.

There were late night conversations when people would open their hearts to me and share their heartaches or dreams. There were times of laughter and times of tears. I started a tradition while I was there -- a regular time when the staff ate together at one of the local restaurants. Often I was invited to drop by someone's home for a bowl of cornbread and chili or whatever they happened to be serving.

During my last week with them, the staff surprised me at our weekly meal. After we had eaten, they presented me with a little homemade plaque. On the plaque they had glued a brass key, and this key was inserted into a heart engraved in the wood. Below the key and heart on a small brass plate were engraved the words:

To Dr. Gary Morsch,
You hold the key to our hearts.
From the employees of St. Joseph's Hospital.

When they gave it to me, I didn't do a very good job of holding back tears. My pastor had been right. Because I was a doctor, I had been given opportunities to minister to many hospital staff members and patients that neither my pastor nor any other pastor would ever be likely to reach.

A World of Opportunity

Of course, doctors are by no means the only ones who have such opportunities. Plumbers can minister to their coworkers, customers, and suppliers. Receptionists, auto mechanics, day care workers, college professors, sales clerks, custodians, social workers -- all have opportunities for ministry that no professional pastor will ever have, precisely because they work "in the world." People who would never seek out a church will eagerly respond to simple, sincere expressions of kindness, acceptance, and love from someone who cares.

For centuries much of the church has divided itself into two groups -- the clergy, or "ministers," and the laity, the ones ministered to. But the New Testament teaches that God has given every Christian one or more spiritual gifts for ministry.

Paul wrote, "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but they all come from the same Spirit. …The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others," (1 Cor. 12:4,7, CEV). Peter wrote, "Each of you has been blessed with one of God's many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others," (1 Pet. 4:10, CEV). Though in the Old Testament only a select group of God's people served as priests, in the New Testament church all believers are priests (1 Pet. 2:5,9).

God does call certain people to lead in the church, and their leadership is critical to the church's effectiveness. But Scripture does not single them out as "the ministers." Rather, it emphasizes the ministry of all believers: "Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so that his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong," (Eph. 4:11-12, CEV). The call of these church leaders, then, is not to do the work of ministry so we don't have to, but to equip us to do ministry.

Gordon Cosby, pastor of the Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C., puts it this way: "The primary task of the professional minister is training nonprofessional ministers for their ministry."

Christ's Hands in a Broken World

Only as we recognize that each of us is called to minister, and as each of us says yes to that call, can the church fulfill its mission to be the hands of Christ in a hurting world. During World War II a statue of Christ that stood in the center of a French village was shattered in the fighting. Villagers carefully saved the pieces until the war was over, then rebuilt the statue.

Once it had been reassembled, though, the people found that Christ's hands were missing. They weren't sure what to do. Should they leave the incomplete statue standing, or should they take it down? Only after someone placed a small hand-painted sign at the statue's base were the villagers able to agree that the statue should remain standing. The sign read, "Christ has no hands but ours."

God has called you and me and every other believer to be his ministers. If we don't do it, no one will. Christ has no hands but ours.

Written by Dr. Gary Morsch.   Used by permission.  Content distributed by HisChurchatWork.org > used for non-profit teaching purposes only.  

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