"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'"
Jesus spoke those words to His disciples, words of instruction - words that would no doubt cause them and us to reflect on who we are in Christ before God. Let us be honest and confess that we rarely, if ever, do all that we should do in keeping with God's revealed will. More still, that which we actually do may indeed be tainted with a desire for reward. Man likes rewards and accolades but the desire for those things can destroy fellowship with God and one another. Let us embrace our position before God, for in Christ, though servants and slaves, yet we are sons and daughters. There is no greater reward than serving God.
Prayer
Lord, you know how we seek our own benefit all to often. We would have the humility of our brother, captain, shepherd and friend - Jesus. Help us to give thanks to you for doing what is best in your eyes and so not to impose our arrogance on our blessed union with you. Amen.
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3 comments:
Do you think our natural inclination to seek reward is sin? And if it is, how as Christians do we repell the urge to be recognized?
I think that the reward we seek tends toward sin. In other words if what we were seeking were just the joy of doings God's will as part of our relationship with him, which God in part redeemed us for, then it seems that is healthy. However, it is our tendency to think that by certain actions we will earn God's favor - an attempt to earn grace which by definition is contradictory - "if it is of debt, then it is not longer grace".
If you buy flowers for your wife, just as an attempt to celebrate your marriage and express your love, it is beautiful. If you buy her flowers so that she will be nicer to you or perhaps to get sexual intimacy, then you are poisoning the relationship. Now the difficult thing is that we get mixed motives, and so it is hard to know whether we every truly act from pure motives- hence the mediation of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
So the words of Jesus are instructive and warn against pride or thinking that we have a debt due us from God. For we never do all we should do, I suspect - but we give thanks for the grace. Make sense?
Yes, good stuff Mr.L.
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