I am sitting in what is probably my favorite coffee place in the world (I haven't been many places), and I think I'm starting to get something. Maybe if we are really going to be able to live lives of worship, where we give everything we have to God, we should be more concerned, at least at first, with doing as much as we can, instead of the best we can.
Let me clarify - I think we should all strive to be great and do great things for Gods glory by His strength, but we, as individuals, will never fully arrive or be made perfect in anything. If we are always waiting to reach a certain level of authority or skill before stepping out - we will miss out on so much.
I think we (and by we I mean me and probably at least someone else) get too bogged down by giving only our best, instead of really living a sacrificial life. God deserves our best, this is absolutely true, but he also deserves our all. There are times when all of us don't try because we're just not sure how it will turn out.
If I only attempt to serve God when I'm at my best, I will probably live a semi-useless life. The truth is I am a perfectionist, and in my desire to make things perfect in my own strength I forget that it's not about what I can do anyway. God does the work through me.
Maybe I should really try to make the most of every opportunity, instead of trying to make a few opportunities as exceptional as I can. And maybe I have it all wrong, I haven't spent years studying this subject - but I would rather try and fail than not try.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
What if Christians actually were Samaritans?
1 Peter 4:9 - 10 "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (NIV)."
If you're reading this blog odds are you know the story of the good Samaritan (odds are also good you are a close relative). In the story the only man willing to serve a nearly dead individual was his "social enemy." The good Samaritan is a hero.
What about us - are we using our gifts to serve our enemies? Are we even using them to serve our friends? I believe, that to some extent, most of us are serving in some way. The real question is it something that we have to force ourselves to do - or is it a natural outpouring of who we are. The Samaritan probably had other plans that day. There was probably other things that he was going to use his money for - but when the need arose he responded because he was a servant - not just a person who serves.
The most ironic part of us not serving more is that few things in life are more fulfilling. You rarely hear someone complaining about serving after it happens (unless of course it was government mandated). In fact, almost everyone I have talked to who has come back from a missions trip talk about how it has changed their life. Why? Because when we take our focus off of our selfish selves and set it on serving others, we are that much closer to living like Jesus did (See Phil 2:1-8). There has to be a way for us to set aside selfishness without paying for a plane ticket to see how others live. We need to live our lives with others' interests in mind (seriously read Phil 2:1-8).
The challenge this week is not serve someone (especially out of guilt) - but to spend some time studying what it means to be a servant from the biblical viewpoint, and then to pray that God will use you as a servant and not just in an occasional act of service.
If you're reading this blog odds are you know the story of the good Samaritan (odds are also good you are a close relative). In the story the only man willing to serve a nearly dead individual was his "social enemy." The good Samaritan is a hero.
What about us - are we using our gifts to serve our enemies? Are we even using them to serve our friends? I believe, that to some extent, most of us are serving in some way. The real question is it something that we have to force ourselves to do - or is it a natural outpouring of who we are. The Samaritan probably had other plans that day. There was probably other things that he was going to use his money for - but when the need arose he responded because he was a servant - not just a person who serves.
The most ironic part of us not serving more is that few things in life are more fulfilling. You rarely hear someone complaining about serving after it happens (unless of course it was government mandated). In fact, almost everyone I have talked to who has come back from a missions trip talk about how it has changed their life. Why? Because when we take our focus off of our selfish selves and set it on serving others, we are that much closer to living like Jesus did (See Phil 2:1-8). There has to be a way for us to set aside selfishness without paying for a plane ticket to see how others live. We need to live our lives with others' interests in mind (seriously read Phil 2:1-8).
The challenge this week is not serve someone (especially out of guilt) - but to spend some time studying what it means to be a servant from the biblical viewpoint, and then to pray that God will use you as a servant and not just in an occasional act of service.
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