Pastors know that Christ must become greater and they must become less. The work of a pastor is never about him but it is about other people. There's an old story of a young pastor that liked everything about being a pastor--except the people! But he's forgetting his first calling: to serve humanity with the gospel. Because when the pastor serves other people, then he serves Christ.

And of course the pastor is not going to serve perfectly. And yes, sometimes that means pastors must leave the ministry. But no matter what, sins remain forgiven. And so faithfulness never becomes about how good we are doing at this or that, but about a life that reflects absolute trust in the only one who can make us faithful—Jesus Christ. In that way, the pastor demonstrates what’s true for all of us: Christ wants us to do our best, to earnestly desire to serve him and other people, and at the end of the day leave all of our sins, all of our half-completed work, and drop it off on the cross. And the next day, we take up the burden of God’s love, the message that no matter how we have failed God he has never failed us and he will never forsake us. And that supreme grace raises our sights to pursue the absolute best service we can give.

So what is a pastor? He is a servant who knows nothing but Christ so that he can share Christ in all he does. That’s what makes a pastor noble—just like you.