All tagged serve
In my devotional reading this morning Pastor Oswald Chambers asked a simple question that took me aback. I hadn't thought about this so directly before; this is what he asked… "Are we being more devoted to service than to Jesus Christ?" Are you willing to humbly consider this question and honestly answer it today?
One morning in 2016 I awoke to a single thought... to who do we owe our allegiance? Perhaps this message was in response to a recent election and its unsettling aftermath, but in any case I find that we owe our first allegiance to God and His son Jesus Christ. Paul conveyed this concern to the early Christians of Corinthians when he wrote these words:
In the church today many feel that there is but one calling and that is to become a pastor, or in another form, a missionary. Today let's contemplate that thought process and ask ourselves if we have received a calling, and determine what it truly is.
The devotional I read this morning was titled "God's Factory on Earth" and dealt with the duty of the Church on earth. This subject fit nicely with the discussions of character and conduct we have been engaged in. As I thought about this subject it occurred to me that there was a similar leaning to scripture which speaks of saving our individual selves... and what comes afterwards.
Are we prepared to do the Father's bidding? I am not talking about the things you consider to be the grand tasks of heaven, but rather the trivial and menial jobs. Those that lesser acts that occur every day as we live out our lives; the ones that humble us and define us in the world’s eyes as the least of all the servants.
This morning I am contemplating a rather convicting subject. I am asking myself a couple of questions regarding my ability to serve the Lord in obscurity. Can I do the work of my calling without a grand moment of inspiration from God? And, is my work dependent on His making a show of my service?
We are all moved to work diligently for the kingdom when we are in the middle of an active calling, but how do we spend our time after God has called us out, after a calling is complete, and we are praying for God to reinsert us into his service? Is this simply a time of rest, do we give up and put our faith on the shelf, or maybe we find ourselves unsettled, despondent, or impatient as we cry and ask for a new assignment?
We say that there is but one God, a God above all, and that there is no other, but do we live as though that is true? The Israelites said these same words and yet formed golden calves and worshiped false gods. Are we any different when we stand before gleaming gold medallions, polished marble statues, and treasures in our homes saying look what my labor and wealth has brought me? Do we marvel and say, “see what my hands have made!”? In such moments who do we worship, who is our god, and as we worship ourselves as the god of our success can we be saved from ourselves?