Doing One Thing

“But one thing I do.”  —Philippians 3:13

Most of you have heard the song written by Lee Hays and Peter Seeger, “If I had a Hammer.” However, many of you may not know it was originally performed in 1949 in support of the communist party leaders in America who were on trial in Federal Court. It was later made famous by the trio of Peter, Paul, and Mary in the 1960s as a theme song for the American Civil Rights movement.

The hammer song states that if I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning, evening, and all over this land. I’d hammer out danger, warning and love between brothers and sisters. (I know the grammar and logic of the song doesn’t quite fit, but the poetic message comes through loud and clear.) The song implies, if what I do best is ring a bell or sing a song, then I’d ring my bell or sing my song morning and evening all over the land.

In our new member class at Oakland, I share how God intends every member to be a minister, how every ministry is important and necessary, and everyone is a “10” in some specific area. We all have a unique contribution to make. If you and I had only one thing we could do, what would it be? How are we making our unique contribution to this life on earth?

Paul, the missionary evangelist and the human author of half of the books of the New Testament, wrote, “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (Phil. 3:13). Paul’s one thing was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. Paul had a past. He persecuted the church with such zeal that he arrested Christians and had Christians put to death. But at his conversion on the Damascus Road and immediately following, God called him to proclaim to the Gentiles the very message and faith he sought to destroy. God said of Paul, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

Paul did this one thing with great intensity. He forgot his past and pressed forward to do what God called him to do. Paul spent the rest of his life, traveling the known world preaching Jesus as the Son of God and planting churches. He was stoned (with rocks) and left for dead only to get up and return to the city to preach some more. “They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city” (Acts 14:19-20). They imprisoned him in Jerusalem, he appealed to Caesar and took his case to Rome and preached to governors, kings, soldiers and fellow prisoners along the way. Nothing stopped Paul from doing his one thing.

If you only had one note to play in the symphony, one line to give in the play, or one event to compete in the Olympics of life, what would that be? If you and I don’t give our unique contribution, someone else may step in and fill the gap, but there will be a void in your family, your church, and the world. Paul said, “This one thing I do.” One goal for our lives should be to discover our one thing and give it back to God as an offering of love.