Wherever you may find yourself and whatever you may be involved in as a vocation, you are in the marketplace. Everyone is! It doesn't matter if you are a student, a homemaker, doctor, engineer, IT professional, pastor, office clerk, teacher, politician, civil servant or retired; wherever you are is your marketplace, it is the place where God wants you to be the light and make a difference.

To a student, the marketplace is his college or school; to a worker, the marketplace is his place of work. A homemaker's marketplace is her home and the children that she looks after are her constituents.

Your marketplace is your constituency, it's the place where Christ expects you to make a difference and penetrate society with the kingdom of God . If your prayer is for God's kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, begin to live kingdom life with kingdom principles in your marketplace.

I have noticed that many believers struggle with the mandate to preach the kingdom of God and be an ambassador for Christ. The dilemma is usually how to do this in a simple practical way, and on a daily basis too. Some hold the view that you have to be a pastor to be working for God or in full time ministry; worse still, some are of the opinion that they are called to be saved and that ends it; to them, there is no need to be engaged with society, preach the gospel or make a difference. WRONG, WRONG, and if I may dis-abuse your mind, every believer is called into full time ministry for God, whatever your vocation may be. Your marketplace i.e. place of work or college becomes the platform for you to make Christ known and express His love.

In many cases, you need not show more than His love and compassion for you to attract people and begin a meaningful ministry that has no boundary. Get it right brothers and sisters; believers remain the only weapon in God's hand to make His kingdom known. We are a walking advertisement for Him to attract people to His fragrance of love and compassion.

Every believer is to be salt and light, meaning that you are called to be a good influence as you penetrate society daily. Jesus went further to say that “let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Peter echoed the same sentiments describing you and I as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people, THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9). We are not called out of darkness for nothing, if indeed you believe, there ought to be an outward evidence that demonstrates your inner righteousness. God expects that your light will be in full blast leading other people out of darkness to His glory. The place to start is your marketplace and the time is now. You don't need to register a ministry, you don't require a PA system, all you need be is to show the genuine love and compassion of Christ and meet people's needs as you go.

Also, society is looking for role models that will shape the larger citizenry. In every industry and vocation, there is a dearth of godly and upright people who would stand up for integrity, for justice, love and compassion injecting society with a regular dosage of Christ. However little your constituency may be, Jesus expects you to be salt and light there and stand for all of the above. The time of arrogance where Christians look down on unbelievers is gone, Jesus expects you to show compassion and be engaged, it is God's desire that none should perish but that all may come into repentance. Who knows, today's homeless person and drunkard may become tomorrow's Billy Graham.

In the story of the Samaritan told by our Lord Jesus Christ in reply to a question of who is my neighbour, Jesus turned around the question by stressing that the work of believers is to be good neighbours to everyone, never minding who our neighbours are. Praising the mercy shown by the Samaritan, He commanded every believer to ‘go and do likewise' (Luke 10:37). Your mandate is to show love and compassion to all that need it irrespective of who they may be. You hardly need to register a ministry to show simple compassion to someone. Our Christianity is to see things with the eyes of Christ and feel things with His heart; further there is no ritual needed to accomplish this. Start at your marketplace.

Society need today's Christian not to resign to hopelessness but to confront the issues of modern society with the same silent stealth that Jesus employed to confront the societal issues of His time. The world need us to leave the comfort of the Church to come into the marketplace where real people are and stand up not only for marriage, the homeless, the hurting but also for good education, and be involved in community activities. They need us to be good neighbours, not people cocooned in an airy-fairy cloud-cuckoo land of religiosity bearing no correspondence with reality. Society needs us to alight from our high horses and brighten the empty worlds of the drunkard, the homeless, the pagan, the disabled and others; peradventure they too may become heaven-bound too.

If you are at sea regarding how to make a difference to other lives, just consider your marketplace, look around you, how many are suffering from hurt and rejection although they may be earning good bucks; can you see those that are newly divorced and are in pain. Jesus wants you to see them, have you? See them now with the eyes of compassion and not that of condemnation; are you moved to pray for them, do this regularly; perhaps, you may want to invite them to your house. Ask the Lord to help you be their friend and a helper. Jesus said in as much as you feed the hungry, and watered the thirsty, took a stranger in and clothed the naked, visited the sick and the prisoner, you have done it for Him (Matthew 25 32-40)

May I just end by quoting the words of E Stanley Jones which says:

“God is producing not puppets but persons great enough to share his authority. That reveals the true nature of God and his purposes. It also reveals our destiny. We are to be the heart of Christ, loving others through us; the brains of Christ, thinking His thoughts; the hands of Christ, stretched in helpfulness; the feet of Christ, seeking the lost; the lips of Christ, speaking his message. We are to be an extension of the incarnation”

The place to start is your marketplace. I'm sure that the Lord will grant you the grace as you begin to do this today. God has placed you where you are for a purpose, start fulfilling it today, that is your ministry and you are in it full time.

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