I grew up in a rural area that wasn’t close to the school I attended. Monday through Friday, my dad would drive us 30 minutes to school. It was a long ride and the front seat was the place to be. Both my brother and my sister felt the same way. We wanted the front seat. So in all fairness, we had to take turns. I believe we had a rotation each day of the week so that everything was fair.
I don’t remember the same eagerness to have our turn when it came to chores. I think my parents tried to split them up fairly. Although, I’m certain I got the most, especially when it came to weed pulling. Just sayin’. To this day, it remains one of my least favorite things to do in life. I digress. The point is, we all want our turn when it comes to the benefits, but don’t necessarily want our turn when it comes to the work. But sharing the work is as important (if not more so) than sharing the benefits.
1 Chronicles 27:1 This is the list of the Israelites—heads of families, commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and their officers, who served the king in all that concerned the army divisions that were on duty month by month throughout the year. Each division consisted of 24,000 men.
What I find cool about this is that the army wasn’t just a select group of men. Instead, there were 12 divisions and they took turns, each serving for one month out of the year. They shared the burden of the work of protecting their nation. In fact, the wording in the verse is that they “served” the king. We, too should be looking for opportunities to serve the king.
The work of the church of Jesus Christ is not a one-man or one-woman task. It requires the Body of Christ to actively “be” the church. We can be the church through our lifestyle, through our example, through our counsel, and even through our service. Like the armies of Israel, we ought to be taking a turn at serving the community of believers. Jesus didn’t design the church around the idea that some people would do the work and others would sit back and reap the benefits. Instead, he called us to be a family.
Ask yourself today, how can I serve? How can I take a turn?