A Parable about Serving

Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’

Luke 17:7-10 NIV

We find it hard to relate to this parable. For those who have not been raised in a culture of servitude, it can be difficult to grasp the concept of only doing one's duty and not receiving any kudos for doing what one was expected to do. It is, however, a clear illustration of how "We should serve God because of who he is and because he is worth serving. If a good slave does his duty for his master faithfully, how much more should God’s children, as those loved by him, serve him faithfully? Service, obedience, and duty are not rights we negotiate with God to exercise. They are the natural outgrowth of appreciating his act of grace in saving us, so we might bring honor to him." 1 

As servants of Christ, we are to follow His example to do everything the Father tells us - even unto death - trusting His Grace to see us through whatever He brings us to. It's not always easy and it rarely coincides with our humanistic view of what we deserve (as a reward) for having gone through it. We want to present our case for special consideration, but we would do well to study the writings of the Apostle Paul to learn what it means to be a servant of God. 

Remember that while we humbly submit and enthusiastically perform our duties, Scripture is clear that God will honor faithful service. Luke 12:27, Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us for those times we thought we should be rewarded or highly regarded for doing only what we should've done anyway. You are El Shaddai, our Adonai, and we are so grateful for Your Mercy and Grace. Help us to better understand our place in relationship to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

1 NIV Application Commentary Copyright © 1996 by Darrel L. Bock.

Friends' Favorites - A Servant's Heart

But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted.
1st Kings 14:8b NLT

This Scripture is an excerpt, albeit taken out of context from a prophecy against Jeroboam, but it hits me right between the eyes. As does Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ That one scares me.

There is a HUGE difference between serving and actually having a servant's heart toward the Master. They are not even close to being the same thing. I can serve because I feel it is the right thing to do, but still not have a servant's heart.

We want Him as Saviour, Redeemer, Healer, Provider, etc, but if we've ever argued with God about something we did not want to do or something we did not want to change, then we have not always done whatever He wanted. We have not made Him Lord. Luke 6:46 NLT, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?"

Prayer:

Father,
           Forgive me of my foolish, self-centered focus in life. Change my heart, O God! Make it pure. Give me a servant's heart, one whose only desire is to serve You as Lord and Master. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

Faithful Servant

The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
Matthew 25:23 NLT

We tend to identify ourselves by what we do for a living - engineer, artist, author, teacher, doctor, professor, or who we are in life - parent, friend, sibling, child, student. If we're not careful, we can get caught up in that to the point that it becomes how we see ourselves and ONLY how we see ourselves. The danger of that is in then using that same filter to see and interpret the rest of the world.

For instance, an engineer might look at a street sweeper only seeing a potentially non-skilled worker and totally miss the person who is working hard to provide for his family and struggling to make ends meet. A professor may gaze upon a sea of students as those who need to listen and learn when he speaks and become indignant or dismiss the one who may be falling asleep in the back... never knowing that they were up all night trying to break the raging fever of an infant son.

The point is, no matter who we are or what we do for a living, we are called to be faithful servants. It doesn't matter how lofty our position in life, if we have asked Christ to be our Saviour, then we are obligated first and foremost to Him. And He has called us to be faithful servants.

We have to ask ourselves - Are we daily looking for those moments to serve others as He would? Will He indeed find us faithful?

Prayer:

Father,
           Forgive us for all the times we look past the need of those around us. We want to be faithful servants, Lord. Open our eyes to see as You see. Change our hearts to be more like You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.

* A Servant's Heart

But you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted.
1st Kings 14:8b NLT

This Scripture is an excerpt, albeit taken out of context from a prophecy against Jeroboam, but it hits me right between the eyes. As does Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ That one scares me.

There is a HUGE difference between serving and actually having a servant's heart toward the Master. They are not even close to being the same thing. I can serve because I feel it is the right thing to do, but still not have a servant's heart.

We want Him as Saviour, Redeemer, Healer, Provider, etc, but if we've ever argued with God about something we did not want to do or something we did not want to change, then we have not always done whatever He wanted. We have not made Him Lord. Luke 6:46 NLT, “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?"

Prayer:

Father,
            Forgive me of my foolish, self-centered focus in life. Change my heart, O God! Make it pure. Give me a servant's heart, one whose only desire is to serve You as Lord and Master. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen