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PROGRAM D-8273
I’ve discovered that far too many of us who are Christ-followers have what I call a “sacred/secular” theology—a belief that some parts of our lives are sacred and some parts are secular. This erroneous theology can cause you to think that being a witness for Jesus is reserved for certain people, places, or times.
Part of the reason I began this ministry almost 35 years ago was to spread the good news that there is no sacred/secular theology and, indeed, all of us who are born again through faith in Jesus Christ are called to be witnesses wherever God puts us. We each have been given a commission from Jesus to be his witnesses wherever we are each day.
So, I’m encouraging you to find your banana ministry—the thing you can intentionally do on a regular basis to share God’s love where you are. This idea comes from my friend’s story of how giving out bananas to needy people in Kenya, where she lives, has become a ministry. That’s something you don’t need a college degree to do, right? So, what could you do to reach out to your coworkers, friends and, yes, even to strangers that would just share a bit of God’s love with them?
Suppose you decided that your banana ministry was to give out encouraging words to at least one person every day. Then you begin your day with a prayer that God will reveal someone to you who needs an encouraging word that day. As you get to work, you hear from a coworker that a project assigned to her is simply falling apart, the team is not working well together, and she doesn’t know what to do about it. You realize this is the person you prayed for today.
Now, what do you do to encourage her? Maybe just a word from you; maybe an offer to help; maybe an email or note you write to encourage her. Maybe you keep some cards in your desk with encouraging words on them, and you give her one of those. There are so many ways you could give her some encouragement, and it could be that was exactly what she needed to keep going and figure out how to get the job done.
I make it a practice to keep a supply of encouragement cards at my desk, and God just randomly puts people on my mind who need a card. Then it’s so easy to write a note and mail it. Handwritten notes have a very high value and impact these days because they are becoming very rare. Here’s a tip: Dollar Tree has some nice encouragement cards that are not expensive. So you can afford to do this.
Are you willing to ask God what your banana ministry is? Don’t miss out on the blessing that awaits you when you do!