Cooperation

One of the most important characteristics of a good basketball player who acts as play maker is the number of assists.

An assist is a pass to an unmarked player so that he can sink an easy basket without dribbling, or dribbling as little as possible.

The best play maker in the world was JOHN STOCKTON. His more than 12,000 NBA assists made him the best play maker of all time, with an almost unbeatable record.

The key to an assist is teamwork. The other fellow gets the glory by making the basket. John has made his team mates happy more than 12,000 times.

In the Bible, God teaches us to work together. God says we are Christ's team-mates, too! (2 Corinthians 6:1). When we work together to carry the gospel to other people, we are cooperating with the Lord Jesus himself. That's so important!

Paul learned to work for the glory of others. Have we learnt that? If someone doesn't think like we do, we reject them; we don't want anything to do with them.

Sometimes our "spiritual purity" and "defense of healthy doctrine" are cover-ups for envy and resentment in case someone else gets the glory. We must learn to cooperate.

This cooperation should especially extend to finding new ways of preaching the gospel. God and His message are always the same, but we have to constantly update and perfect the way we proclaim that message.

Ask God for wisdom: maybe He has put a unique idea in your heart. What about the first person who thought about writing a devotional? Or the first to go on radio or television? Or the first to use the press, music, the theater, or preaching?

Dare to be creative! Pray that God will teach you new ways to preach His glorious gospel. It pleases Him most when you do it in cooperation with others.