God’s Plan and My Purpose

All of God's great men have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on His being with them; they counted on his faithfulness. J. Hudson Taylor

Alexander Mackay was born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in October 13, 1849. He was a bright student who had the mind of an engineer and the heart of a missionary. While reading an Edinburgh newspaper in December 1875, he came across a letter from King M'tesa of Uganda welcoming "the practical Christian who can cure diseases, build dwellings and turn his hand to anything".

Three years later, Mackay found himself preaching before King M'tesa. He chose to speak about the message of John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ. He wrote: "The spirit of God seemed to be working. I never had such a blessed service."

Mackay found that his true service to the Lord would be constructing a 230-mile road from the African coast, through the dense jungles to Uganda's capital. With the king's blessing, Mackay worked for twelve years preparing a way for missionaries to travel while translating Matthew into the Luganda language.

Near the end of his life, he again wrote: Still I plod on, teaching, translating, printing, doctoring and carpentering. Praise God! St. Matthew's Gospel is now published complete in Luganda and rapidly being distributed.

Henry M. Stanley called Mackay the greatest missionary since Livingstone; he used his talents, passion and gifts for God in a full and satisfying manner. Stanley allowed the mighty River of God to flow in and through him to touch thousands of lives and left a legacy for future generations.

What is your “True service for God?” Is it engineering, sales, evangelism, preaching, writing, healing, translating materials into Russian, counseling, construction, medicine, hauling coal, giving Cokes away, nursing beggars in India or cleaning toilets? What will you write in your journal at the end of your life?

Myths

A damaging myth about serving the Lord often keeps us from fully using God’s gifts and talents. The myth goes like this: “There are some talents, tasks and businesses that are sacred while others are secular. Sacred tasks are done only in sacred settings with religious words and symbols. They include preaching, leading worship, reading the Bible witness. The people also must have special names and certificates.

Secular careers are different. They focus on medicine, marketing, computers, business, industry, housework, engineering, investments, real estate, physics, counseling, art, parenting, teaching and science. Secular people are the passive recipients of those who labor in Spiritual fields.

This means that 99% of all Christians serve secular purposes while only a few are in spiritual ministries. Secular folk are “part-time Christians” whose gifts and call from God can only be used in churches a few hours each week. This powerful and enduring myth has hobbled Christianity for generations. It must change.

MacKay’s story puts the myth into its proper perspective. All helpful work is redemptive. Every Christian has been incarnated by the Holy Spirit so every thing we do is godly. Every task is spiritual. Any honorable activity is God’s activity when the Holy Spirit is present.