Friends in Ministry
On the twelfth of July, the church celebrated the Feast of Jason of Thessalonica, an early Christian believer mentioned in Acts 17:5–9 and Romans 16:21.
He was a friend of Paul.
Paul is remembered; Jason is largely forgotten.
Paul's work was remarkable; Jason's participation is mentioned in passing.
However, we all need friends when we are doing God's work. Without those friends, we will not be able to fulfill the things that are possible in our ministries.
Tradition says that Jason was numbered among the Seventy Disciples who were sent out on mission by Jesus two by two.
Jason is remembered as an official saint in Catholic and Orthodox traditions. That means that, while all believers are saints in that they are set apart for God's purposes, some are remembered as examples because of their exemplary lives from which we can all learn.
My take-away from Jason's life today is that he was a friend to Paul. All great men and women need friends to stand with and for them. Without our friends, we cannot accomplish all that we are called to do.
Where do we find such friends?
They are everywhere. They are hanging out in coffee shops. They are living in our neighborhood. They are members of the same service clubs. They are in our congregations. They are cutting our hair or serving our copiers. They are pulling our teeth and engineering our next building project. They are living in nursing homes. They are standing in line with us at the airport.
Sometimes they will reach out to us. We need to be ready to recognize them as gifts from God.
More often, we will be reaching out to them.
Having met, cultivation of friendship is a mutual matter. It involves presence, communication, conversation, and shared lives.
While on his second missionary journey, Paul stayed at Salonika, in the house of Jason. While there, Paul, the Apostle, stirred the city with his preaching.
Paul needed a place, a home base, and hospitality. Jason was there for him.
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Paul was willing to humble himself to receive that hospitality.
It is called friendship. When we want to sound really churchy, we call it fellowship. When we need to be accurate, it is participation.
Paul was very careful to openly and specifically thank people who helped him. That is a pattern we would do well to follow.
He spent time making friends in multiple places and walks of life.
These are all patterns for us.
How many friends do we need? How often do we need them? From what walks of life do we need them? Who needs us as friends?
You cannot quantify that. We never know when we will need a friend. We never know when we will be needed as a friend. The best rule of thumb is to keep making friend, keep keeping friends, and stay available for our friend.
The cause is so great that we all need each other in it as fellow participants and it does not matter who gets the credit.
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