Soft Hearts on a Dangerous Mission

Arlen Salte

herefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." - Hebrews 12:1-3

My wife and I were driving to work in rush hour. Suddenly, a young boy dashed out into the middle of the road and was hit head-on by a truck and left crumpled in a heap. Nobody went to rescue this little boy lying on the busy road. Finally, Elsa could restrain herself no longer. She leapt from the car, ran to this young boy's side and knelt in the street. The boy's face was blue; he wasn't breathing. Elsa restored his breathing and held him until the ambulance arrived, then we never saw him again.

Elsa was covered in blood because she responded when no one else moved. There was no thank you, applause, media interviews or a medal; only her bloodied clothes and dirty hands.

Today, maybe you feel you are out in the danger of the street. Ministry is a dangerous business, especially music ministry. When you deal with music you don't just deal with personal tastes, but with the very language of people's hearts. Week after week you lay your soul bare before the congregation. Maybe you wish someone would acknowledge your gifts, place you on their shoulders and parade you to the church office to get a medal.

We can begin to carry the scars of ministry. Sometimes it's because we have been taken for granted. At times it's because we are the little boy hit by a truck called Slander. Perhaps it's face-to-face confrontations about the volume, choice of music or playing style. The most common result of having our heart stepped on in ministry is bitterness. Hebrews 12 talks about throwing off everything that hinders. Bitterness is a great hindrance to effective worship ministry. It impacts every word we say and every note we sing. We cannot proclaim both bitterness and praise at the same time and have an effective ministry.

Jesus ran into the rush hour of our lives with no guarantee of our response. He came to us when all others stood by, watching our destruction. His hands were covered with blood; not ours, but his own. It's time to throw off the hindrance of bitterness. Why not begin the process today?