It came up in conversation this week that behind any one of the great and well-known preachers or evangelists, people with great ministries, is at least one person who receives little or no fame for their work.
I do not write this to try to change that or to bring those people glory-- their work will be recognized in time in a manner much more worthwhile. But here is another arena of life in which the Christian way is backward. Fame means nothing; earthly recognition is worthless. In the Kingdom, positions in life or ministry that earn the praise of man are leveled to the same ground as those that pass unseen.
No one will ever become widely famous for great organizational skills or faithfulness in cleaning toilets, but I challenge you to name me a ministry that can function without these tasks getting done. Christ Himself came not to be served, but to serve, turning the world on its head and undermining the face value of every position. Do we believe that a life spent faithfully crunching numbers in obedience to God will receive as much recognition from Him as a life spent at the pulpit?
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Submitting to love
"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?"
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
The Bible, the Old Testament especially, can seem a little harsh at times. Repeated over and over again are commands that we will love and serve the Lord first and the Lord only, worshiping Him and obeying Him and honoring Him and following Him. Submission is not a concept of which I have always been particularly fond, whether to God or to another human being, but it's a concept I've started to understand a little more this year.
We are trained to want to be in control. In our ideal world, we call the shots and make the decisions and serve our own interests, and it's all about us. To submit would be to sacrifice that self-interest and to lose all of the benefits, right? Not necessarily. What if you were submitting to One who knew better than yourself what would be good for you? What if you were submitting to One whose love for you surpassed even your own self-love? What if submission to another's commands and laws and orders would actually bring you the most satisfaction and fulfillment?
What if the One we were submitting to looked something like this?
"To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes."
Deuteronomy 10:14-21
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
The Bible, the Old Testament especially, can seem a little harsh at times. Repeated over and over again are commands that we will love and serve the Lord first and the Lord only, worshiping Him and obeying Him and honoring Him and following Him. Submission is not a concept of which I have always been particularly fond, whether to God or to another human being, but it's a concept I've started to understand a little more this year.
We are trained to want to be in control. In our ideal world, we call the shots and make the decisions and serve our own interests, and it's all about us. To submit would be to sacrifice that self-interest and to lose all of the benefits, right? Not necessarily. What if you were submitting to One who knew better than yourself what would be good for you? What if you were submitting to One whose love for you surpassed even your own self-love? What if submission to another's commands and laws and orders would actually bring you the most satisfaction and fulfillment?
What if the One we were submitting to looked something like this?
"To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes."
Deuteronomy 10:14-21
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Disobedience and disbelief
"All disobedience to God's laws, and distrust of his power and goodness, flow from disbelief of his word, as all true obedience springs from faith."
-Matthew Henry, from his commentary on Deuteronomy 1
God's Word is pretty straightforward. Love Him, love others, honor and obey Him, acknowledge your sinfulness and His grace through Jesus on the cross. All of the commandments basically melt down, as Jesus pointed out, to "Love God and love your neighbor." And yet we disobey. And Matthew Henry hits the nail right on the head with his commentary: when we disobey, it is because we disbelieve in God's goodness, His promises, and His faithfulness to do what He has said (both the positive and the negative). If we obey Him, it will be the best thing we can do, the best life we can live (not easiest, but best) and the best consequences we can reap. If we disobey Him, it will be the worst. And if we really believed that, we would act accordingly, repenting of sin and stepping out in faith. So why don't we?
-Matthew Henry, from his commentary on Deuteronomy 1
God's Word is pretty straightforward. Love Him, love others, honor and obey Him, acknowledge your sinfulness and His grace through Jesus on the cross. All of the commandments basically melt down, as Jesus pointed out, to "Love God and love your neighbor." And yet we disobey. And Matthew Henry hits the nail right on the head with his commentary: when we disobey, it is because we disbelieve in God's goodness, His promises, and His faithfulness to do what He has said (both the positive and the negative). If we obey Him, it will be the best thing we can do, the best life we can live (not easiest, but best) and the best consequences we can reap. If we disobey Him, it will be the worst. And if we really believed that, we would act accordingly, repenting of sin and stepping out in faith. So why don't we?
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