Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at the parable of the farmer and his slave, and I know we have recently looked at this passage, but it is worth a second look at the way it cures our self-pity and sets the standard for the ideal attitude of a disciple of Christ. We are to exhibit humility. The context in which we find this parable is a series of teachings for Jesus’ disciples about faith. The Lord’s insistence that forgiveness be granted continually is such a hard teaching that the disciples ask for an increase in faith. Jesus responds that authentic faith, though small, can accomplish amazing things. But these great works can lead to the danger of attributing them to personal achievement. And when we compare this to the internal and external ways of most churches we are compelled to ask: Has Our Religion Degenerated Into A Fantasy Cult Of Happiness?
Scripture: “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'”
Luke 17:7-10 (NRSV)
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Romans 1:1 (NRSV)
What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:15-23 (NRSV)
Message: Now you may be thinking that after we have done all we can do it would be alright to take a little pride in a well fought fight. But the parable from Luke initially reads like life is a bitch and then you die. It is not very happy at all. Culture’s response to this may have been an overcorrection toward greedy individualism and institutional endorphin making. But the slice of truth in today’s parable is that we should be humble if we seek sanctification. Thankfully this parable it is not all the truth in the Bible. Still it is an important truth for there is no special award for being less than perfect. And the only award in this scripture is in realizing that the work is never done. Like salmon returning home to the very place they were born we too as children of God must find our way back from where we came and yes the journey is all upstream to heaven. Friends, a disciple should never forget his position before God. He has been brought into the kingdom at great cost and sacrifice. And because such a price has been paid, the believer can take no credit for the work he does in God’s kingdom. His attitude can only be that of a humble and grateful servant who understands that service does not obligate God to him. But this is not just an external response to the world. It is an internal one of cognitive retraining that the apostle Paul speaks of and embodies. The apostle Paul was one who had this kind of attitude of humility. When thinking of what God had done for him, Paul speaks of sonship and freedom from slavery. When thinking of his own responsibility to Christ, he speaks of himself as a slave of Christ and as one who is under obligation to the Lord who redeemed him.
And So, today’s message is about our obedience. It is facing up to the fact we don’t like to think of ourselves as slaves or even humble servants. But it is also a message of discovering that serving others is a blessing in and of itself and so is humility. Together they combine to give us a warm sense that not only have we pleased others but also pleased God. And this is not a pride thing but when you know that you did the right thing, it is a good feeling. So, we are to go forth and love and serve God by loving and serving each other. And that does not take a lot of faith, but it does take more commitment. We must be all in realizing we are to be as slaves for God because God is the one who created us and saves us. And the disciples had Jesus right there with them. They were not going to get any better leader to prompt their faith. But Jesus is instructing them and us to do in order to learn how to have faith. Friends, with God’s rain and sunshine the small mustard seed will sprout and come to harvest to the greater glory of God for it was so tiny to begin with. Our faith grows when we learn and do the things we are supposed to do as Christians committed to transformation. Here humility and service go hand in hand. Trust and obedience go hand in hand. So what Jesus was preaching was not to have more faith but how to use the faith we have with the gifts we have been given. Jesus was using hyperbole to make a point like he did when he instructed the disciples to take the plank out of their own eyes before they took the spec out of someone else’s. The problem is not more faith but obedience to the obligation of being a servant of Christ and commitment to the transformation of being a Christian in not just words but deeds.
Pray we not neglect the gift of our salvation. Pray we delight in God’s will, and walk in the ways of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of Jesus Christ. Pray we face up to the fact that we use our lack of faith as an excuse when the real issue is a lack of obedience. Pray we have a faith rooted in Kingdom purposes in us. Pray we realize that our service for God does not obligate God. Pray we regard our service as nothing more than a duty. Pray we realize that hard work may help grow our faith but the glory of the work if it produces anything is to go to God. Pray we realize that even the best servants of Christ are still called unprofitable servants. Pray we realize that there is no room for pride when it comes to serving God. Pray we find freedom in service. Pray we are humble. Pray we not substitute false happiness for the hard work of a disciple. Pray we find joy in the work that does not puff us up. Pray we realize that we are a Temple for God and in the three parts of our mind be retrained from the perspective of steward, servant and slave for our very sanctification.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 