For and with.
Two tiny little words that could easily be overlooked but have recently caused me to completely rethink the things I do.
My Bible study this week discussed the difference between doing things for Jesus and doing them with Him. This idea intrigued me so I did my own little study on this topic. Here is what I discovered.
First thing I did was go to my trusty dictionary (which, by the way, is on my phone--I am in the 21st century). Both of these words are prepositions and both have similar meanings with one fundamental difference.
for - used as a function word to indicate purpose
with - used as a function word to indicate a participant in an action
Did you notice the difference? For has a purpose but with requires participation. So here's where this took me.
When I do things for Jesus, I have a purpose; to glorify God and further the kingdom. Not a bad thing. I don't think God would object to that.
But...
When I do things with Jesus, I am simply a participant in a greater plan. I am being the Lord's hands and feet. I am in partnership with Him in His kingdom work. I am relying on Him to put me where I should be, doing what I am meant to do.
Since it's summer, let's use a fishing analogy. I love analogies. They help me wrap my brain around otherwise complex concepts. And Jesus used this technique often so I'm guessing it is an effective way to get through to those of us who are a little denser than others.
When I do things for Jesus, it's like casting out a bunch of fish hooks hoping that some of them will land where there are fish. I could potentially catch one but I may or may not have a very good success rate.
When I do things with Jesus, it's like going out on the lake with a fish finder, locating a school of fish, then dropping my hook right in the middle of them. My success rate is almost guaranteed to go up.
I'm going to have to process this a bit more to truly grasp what these two approaches look like in real life but it has certainly given me something to think about.
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