Good Words for Today: January 18

“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). Here is the true goal of all ministry: To help others become like Christ. John Calvin remarked that “if ministers wish to do any good, let them labor to form Christ, not themselves, in their hearers.” We must labor to form Christ in our hearers, not an image of ourselves. It doesn’t matter if a pastor is known as a wonderful preacher, so long as the people go away knowing that Christ is a wonderful Savior.

January 18, 2026