The Bible calls Christians to live in
pursuit of excellence. Notice these familiar passages:- 1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Or
- Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
And this does not just mean in our work and
around the home, the Bible does call for us to attend to our ministry with
excellence. Turn with me to 1
Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord
your labor is not in vain." That word "abounding" is
important. A.H. Strong identifies the
word from the Greek περισσεύω [perisseuo /per·is·syoo·o/].[1] He explains it as:
- to exceed a fixed number of measure, to be left over and above a certain number or measure.
- to excel … excel more than, exceed.
- to make abundant or excellent.
Our lives including our ministries ought to
show evidence of excelling … going over the top! When Paul was giving instruction to us
protégé, Timothy, he counseled him this way: “Practice these things, immerse
yourself in them, so that all may see your progress.” (1 Timothy 4:15, ESV)
. The verb form of the word that Paul
uses here (προκοπή [prokope /prok·op·ay/]) means to hammer out. It was used as a metal worker would heat
metal and hammer it out increasing and shaping its size. Paul told Timothy that as he attended to his
ministry that it should be obvious that he was growing and progressing.
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