continued from page 7 toll, and the harvest is bitter, indeed. While the machinery has changed, and while yields have drastically increased,
passage, and the warning remains true that the one who puts his hand to the should be encouraged.
workers? Having put our hand to the plow, will we look back? Let’s be honest. We are tempted to look back. I don’t know about all of my fellow pastors, but for me COVID
really was a time like no other. We pastors had to reinvent the way we do ministry, become social media pros, com- puter scientists and sound technicians. We weren’t allowed into hospitals. And that was harder than you know. We couldn’t be in our peoples’ homes. And because of all of that change, quarantine was no vacation for us. Yes, we’re tempted to look back. And elders, you’ve been tempted, too. Are tempted, in fact. Tempted to be pas- As it relates to denominational affairs we’re tempted in all sorts of ways, too. We’re tempted to protect interests.
Tempted to be angry. Tempted to accuse and impugn motives. Tempted to see one another as opponents, as if we are on different sides. Tempted to despair. the necessary work, this is hard stuff, after all.
But even so, let us delight in the fact that God is good, and that by His hand we have the opportunity to be labor-
ers. We have the assurance that God is sovereign and that his command to us is sure. That if we seek His Kingdom be added to us.
Let us also look upon each other as co-laborers in
the more we work together, the quicker our work is accomplished, and the better it is done. -
and argue and draw lines of territory or whatever else may happen at Synod, the world outside doesn’t know we have retirement plan problems. Our children don’t care that we’re considering restructuring. The society around us that is wondering and wan- dering and groping in darkness needs to see the light of Jesus, and this must be our motivation for why - plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles away - losophy to you, then church seems easy, too. Putting your hand to the plow is never easy. But I’ve learned from my people that loving the work makes all the difference. Fathers and brothers, let us love our work. And let us remember that whether you are a pastor who has taken vows, or an elder who has taken vows, it’s all the same. In doing so you have put your hand to the plow. Don’t look back.
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Erskine College and Theological Seminary has begun the search for its next president, and we are trusting the Lord to direct us to the right
erskine.edu/presidential-search ARP Magazine
June_July.indd 1 5/19/21 9:25 AM The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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