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Think about the great servants of God through the Bible—people who really made their lives count. Every one of them was an “I canner”. The Lord said, “Who will go, whom shall I send?” Isaiah said, “Here am I, send me” (Isa. 6:8). He said, “I can,” and he did. A century later Haggai got the people of Jerusalem to finish the temple because he was an “I canner.” Still a century later, in spite of tremendous opposition, Nehemiah rallied God’s people and they rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls (Neh. 4:6). Have you ever wondered why Paul was such a powerhouse for Christ? Simple: He was an “I canner” (“I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me,” [Phi. 4: 13]). In some New Testament passages, “can” is translated from dunamai, the Greek word from which we get dynamite. It is a word for ability and power. Three important traits characterize all “I canners”:
- They have a goal. A goal is something at which to aim. It is more necessary in daily life than in a basketball game. Paul had a goal (Phi. 3:14). Someone once observed, “When you catch up with your goals, you’re in trouble.” Why did Alexander the Great kill himself with drunkenness at a young age? He could find no more worlds to conquer; he caught up with his goals. Without definite aims and goals, we have nothing on which to focus our energies and efforts. We are like ships adrift with no destination. Goals are just as important to a church as to an individual. Why do so many churches just drift along in a self-preserving status quo (better known as a rut)? Simple—they have no specific goals or aims. Why do we set goals? To give us something definite to focus our combined energies on and to move us forward.
- They make a start. People never make things happen if they don’t get started. Just as the longest journey begins with one step and the tallest building begins with the first brick, so also the achievement of a great goal in the Lord’s work begins with getting started. How do we reach goals in worship and Bible class attendance? Every member makes a start by inviting as many as it takes to get some committed to come.
- They give their all. The half-hearted, duty-only worker in business will not rise far. The most important rule of success in anything is give it all you’ve got! Some will have more talent or money, but they can’t outdo you if you give 100%. Have you really done your best to get someone to attend our Bible class and worship? How about those visits and phone calls you intended to make? You still have time to give it all you’ve got. Ten of Israel’s spies were “I can’t-ers”; two were “I canners.” Which ones pleased God (Num. 13–14)?
[Note: I wrote this article for and it was published in The Edifier, weekly bulletin of Pearl Street Church of Christ, Denton, TX, January 14, 1988, of which I was editor.]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
