When you make cookies, you have (in my opinion) every right to lick the spoon. But you also want good cookies, not just good batter. You have to enjoy the work being done, but also work in such a way that the result is desirable.
I find it curious that scripture makes so many references to fruit and harvests in the context of the gospel message -- and ministry in general. We can learn so much from Jesus' parable of the sower, or the arduous truth behind "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." There is so much richness in such few words, even when those words seem like the whole thing is going to be a laboriously uphill fight. More than the question as to where the other workers are, I think I want to ask: Why try to spread seeds if so many are just going to just be killed off?
The answer? The harvest.
The harvest is the goal. The fruit. The prize, as Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 9. And we have to labor for that. We need to push forward and work in such a way that we not be deprived of that prize (v. 24, 27). There has to be that vision of the finish line. I have to know what I'm working towards and how to get there, and not just work blindly -- I need to know what kind of cookie I want to make, and then take the steps necessary to get there.
I am not at all overstating when I say that the fruit is to the minister what the landing is to the gymnast or quarterly reports to the long-term investor -- basically, it's what matters. All the flips and spins and various complicated acrobatics mean precisely nothing if ending in a faceplant; periodic "ups" are still a poor investment if the stock falls consistently each quarter; a seed that never bears fruit is wasted; the gospel minister that doesn't reap a harvest is useless. True disciples produce fruit (John 15:8).
And that can get stressful. That's a lot of pressure, if one is inclined to believe the words of Jesus. I am, so I say that's a lot of pressure: it is a big task. And it is hard to see sometimes what's really coming of all my work. It's the moment of doubt, wondering if the cookies will be at all good or not.
I'm two thirds of the way through a church plant, and it's time to prepare for the harvest. For me to be able to say that this wasn't a waste of time, I need to see fruit in that harvest. Now, then, I need to meet goals and move strategically and work tirelessly and just keep pushing...
It is so incredibly easy to be so concentrated on the product that I miss out on the simple joy of the work: what I do is " for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you" (1 Cor 9:23, KJV, emphasis added). To partake in the gospel. What does that mean? Earlier on in the chapter, Paul asks who would work in a vineyard and not eat its grapes, or tend a flock and not drink its milk (v. 7). By parity of reasoning, then, who bakes cookies without licking the spoon? This is the perfect parallel that I want to follow when things seem tedious.
Yes, working in such a way that there is real fruit is so incredibly important, as the gymnast needs to stick the landing. But if I forget to just enjoy and partake in the gospel that I'm sharing, then that's my own fault. I need to rejoice in the little victories and the simplicity of salvation, and above all, that I know Christ. Every day, that sweetness will sustain me in the middle of the labor.
It's hard work in the hot sun, but I get to eat all the grapes I want. That simple and daily joy of just knowing God is something I cannot afford to lose, lest the I become bitter in my work.
Two thirds. I can see the deadline, done here in about nine months. And I can see the fruit starting to form and I have to stay disciplined and vigilant and that fruit will grow and give its own seeds. But in that, I have to be present right now and enjoy it.
