What We Do
Merimnao is a ministry of restoration, renewal and reconciliation. These three words describe three themes that run throughout the Bible. The work of the ministry involves all three of these.
Restoration, this is the word used to portray God’s desire to return our souls to their original design and proper function. In the context of the ministry, our work involves working alongside the Holy Spirit in restoring an individual’s soul to a healthier place or condition, where life can be lived more fully in right relationship with God and others.
In the well-known Psalm of David, God says this:
Ps 23:3 - He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. NASU
It is God who desires that our souls are restored, and that we walk in right living with Him and others. He does His work of restoration in a person’s life as proof of His ever-loving character to us. All we can do is to join Him in this work.
Renewal, another word used to portray a desire of God. In another prayerful Psalm of David, God speaks to us about renewal.
Ps 51:10 – Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. NASU
Paul, the great missionary Apostle, speaks God’s words on how to be renewed, and what it does in our lives.
Rom 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. NASU
The Holy Spirit works within us to renew us by cleaning our hearts and transforming our minds. Replacing false beliefs and erroneous attitudes within the heart, with godly beliefs and attitudes, cleans the heart. The mind is transformed through the study and application of the word of God, Scripture, in a person’s life. When we do these things the will of God is proven in a person’s changed life, to the glory of God.
Reconciliation, this is third word we use to describe a desire that God has for us. There are two major aspects of reconciliation to consider, an individual’s reconciliation with God, and with others. The first of these is addressed in this passage.
2 Cor 5:17-19 – Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. NASU
In this Scripture God is reminding us that He has done everything necessary to reconcile us to Him, we have become “new creatures”; Christians. He also, importantly and relevantly for Merimnao, points out that we have all been given the ministry of reconciliation. This means that as we minister to others, we must be able to address the relationship of a person being served with God. If a person is an unbeliever, we must do some work with them pointing them to Jesus. If they are a believer, we may have to work at strengthening the believer’s faith in God and all that His reconciliation means to them.
The second aspect of reconciliation is that of person-to-person relationships. Jesus addressed this here:
Matt 5:23-24 – Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. NASU
In this scripture Jesus places reconciliation between people in a very important position. He basically tells us that before we come to worship God, and when we remember that we have an issue with someone, we must address that issue first.
This has tremendous implications for Merimnao as it ministers to people. We are to always be mindful of relationships of those we serve to others in their lives. There could be barriers to their personal progress to wholeness because of issues of a relational nature. Jesus counted this as so important that He told us to deal with them before we worshipped Him.
Jesus considered reconciliation as so important that He gave Himself up for it, and He asks us to do the same. As we minister to others we must be able to address any needs for reconciliation that the Holy Spirit prompts in those we serve.
The answer to the question of what do we, the ministry of Merimnao, do, is therefore this. We work alongside and under the direction of the Holy Spirit to perform God’s work of restoration, renewal and reconciliation in the lives of the broken-hearted.
