Who is taking out the trash?

When my son was two, he wanted to imitate everything I did, from the words I used and the food I ate to the way I brushed my teeth and talked to his mother. I even heard him calling my wife “babe!”

One time, my son asked to help me take out the trash. Of course, I was delighted that he wanted to help, but unsure how he could. Nevertheless, he wanted to help so I called him over and we proceeded to the kitchen trash bin together. I realized quickly that the trash bag was too heavy for him to lift, so I took it out of the bin. We walked together to the front door and I asked him to open it. He tried, but could not fully, so I opened it with him. Then we walked outside to the side gate. The side gate is tricky to open, so I unlocked it as he stood and watched. I opened it a bit and asked him to pull it all the way open. He gladly did. Then came the final task of lifting the trash bag into the large outdoor bin. He stood there and watched as I heaved the bag up and into the bin over his head. I looked at him. He was pretty happy and very proud of himself for helping.

That experience convicted me when I realized it was an image of my work with God. There were times when I have felt overwhelmed in ministry, as if I was pushing a boulder up a mountain or lifting a huge bag over my head. I felt ministry was a duty that I did alone. I thought ministry was about me taking out the trash for my Father. What I failed to realize is that it was an impossible task unless He was with me doing the heavy lifting” (Missional Friendships, 30-31).

The Apostle Paul said this about Christ, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things” (Colossians 1:16-20).

*Excerpt from Missional Friendships: Jesus’s Design for Fruitful Life and Ministry by CJ Davison. Published by Acoma Press in 2020.