As I was taking a stroll around
the block a couple of mornings ago, I was distracted by a crow that was flying
by its lonesome. I was thinking about
the crow and where it was going, why it was up so early, and wondering if that crow
had a big day ahead of it, when out of nowhere, two mocking birds flanked this
crow with a tenacity that only mocking birds have. These two birds were clearly on a mission to
thwart this crow’s flight plans.
These two mocking birds were
still smaller than the crow, yet they worked in harmony and their joined
efforts were much more successful because they worked in harmony.
I know mocking birds’ behavior well
enough to know that the crow got a little too close to one of their nests, and
those two birds saw the crow as their enemy, and worked together to defeat him.
Regardless of the crow’s
intentions that morning, these two mocking birds bring to life the Ecclesiastes
4 passage;
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their
toil. 10 For if they
fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls
and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again,
if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man
might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord
is not quickly broken.”
This passage has a general
principle that can be applied to every area of life. But one specific area that this applies to particularly
well is the area of spiritual warfare.
We have an enemy prowling around, much like the crow I saw. Our enemy looks for vulnerabilities in those
who call themselves Christians, in order to thwart their plans to live as
children of God.
When you live life with another
Christian, another brother or sister who is watching your back, then there is
less of an opportunity for the enemy to take you by surprise.
Being new to the ministry, I see
this principle especially true to those who are called to serve Christ full
time. There is an uncanny attack on
young men and women who just enter the mission work full time, as the enemy
tries to hit you when you are weakest.
It is my utmost encouragement to
you, if you plan to go into ministry, to prayerfully ask God to send a
co-worker with you. One who can sharpen
you, hold you accountable, pray with you, laugh with you, mourn with you, and
do the heavy lifting of ministry with you.
For the rest, you need that one
person that you can live life with, joined at the hip, as in the words of King
Solomon, “two are better than one”.
