With Christians today we rarely see this kind of matching. There is very little coordination between Christian workers because they lack the vision of the principle of the Body. I am burdened that we all, as God’s called ones, see the need of such a match. I have known some very gifted brothers who became useless because they refused to accept a match. A matching one binds us and restricts us. For this reason, it is difficult to be matched with others.
A three-legged race illustrates the principle of matching. In a three-legged race, the runners have one of their legs tied to one of their partner’s legs. The Lord’s service is not a race run by individuals; it is a race run by those who are bound to another member of the Body. To dislike such an arrangement is to dislike the Lord’s service. If you want to share in His work, you must be willing to be part of a twosome in a three-legged race. If you refuse to be bound to another, you are disqualified from this race. By yourself you may be able to accomplish a great deal, but what you do will not be very profitable for the building of the Body. Some may carry on a great Christian work, but it is not of much benefit to the Body. The work in the Lord’s recovery is not an ordinary Christian work; it is the work of building the Body. If we would be used of the Lord to build the Body, we must be willing to run a three-legged race; that is, we must be willing to be bound to another to form one unit.
Regarding this, there are many lessons to be learned, especially by those who are capable. It is very difficult for a capable person to be bound to another. The situation in today’s Christianity proves this. Every gifted preacher or minister is individualistic. Such people may have employees those whom they hire and fire, but they do not have any matching co-workers. A hired one is very different from a matching one. Moses did not hire Aaron, and Paul did not hire Timothy. Nevertheless, most of the well-known Christian workers today are individualistic. If they need others to help them, they hire them, but they do not accept them as a match. Whatever is done by such Christian workers is not of much profit for the building up of the Body. In the Lord’s recovery there is an urgent need for the true work of building. This building work, however, can be carried out only by co-workers who have been matched. We all need to be matched, not just with one other person, but with several others. It is by means of such matching that God’s commission is carried out.
Many think that if they are matched with others, they will lose their position. For this reason, they do not want others to do the same work they are doing. But look again at the case of Moses and Aaron. Aaron did not cause Moses to lose his position. Nothing Aaron did could replace Moses in his position as God’s called one. In 4:16 God said to Moses concerning Aaron, “And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.” This verse indicates that there was no need for Moses to be concerned about being replaced. The same is true with God’s called ones today. Your standing as a called one is of the Lord, and no one can take it from you.
According to the record, Aaron might have been more capable than Moses in the matter of speaking; Aaron might have been more eloquent than Moses. However, Aaron was not to take this as an occasion to be proud. He could only do a certain amount, for God did not give him so much as far as position was concerned. In fact, verse 16 says that Moses was to be as God to Aaron. From the match of Moses and Aaron we all can learn the importance of knowing where we are. The place we occupy in a matching relationship depends entirely on the Lord’s arrangement. The Lord called Moses and He prepared Aaron to match him. There was no place for human maneuvering. Everything was according to the divine economy, the divine arrangement.
I have been involved in matching relationships for almost fifty years. I have learned that such a relationship is not easy to bear over a long period of time. For this, we need to receive grace from the Lord. Now seems to be the right time for the release of this word concerning matching. I hope that all those in the local churches will become clear about the need to be properly matched so that there may be among us permanent and constant matches.