Sunday, March 24, 2024

friends and Servants

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

FRIENDS AND SERVANTS

Luke 17:7-10

7 "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 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.'" 

NIV

We cannot connect these words of Jesus to anything else he has said or is going to say, so we have to think the disciples were getting a little impatient for what they expected as rewards when he overthrew the Romans and set up his new kingdom in Jerusalem. They had not yet come to grips with the reality of what, where, and when the kingdom of God would come. In fact, it would not be until years later that John would get the revelation. However, the point Jesus made was that the servant is unworthy to sit at the table with the master. This still relates to today because we have nothing to bring to the table. We have nothing to offer to benefit God. Although we talk about what we do that will benefit or advance the kingdom of God, as in being the light of the world, and the salt of the earth. We also talk about being an effective witness, but that is about witnessing of the grace of God and has nothing to do with how much we do or think we do. If we consider whatever we do as our duty, rather than as doing so that we will get a reward, then are thinking correctly. However, on the other hand, Jesus said that he no longer calls us servants, but friends. The reason is said was a master does not tell his servants what he is going to do, but he tells his friends, and he has told us everything. This is why we can say, and sing, we are friends of God. Still, we have to come to grips with the fact that we are unworthy of any reward and we should not expect to have a reward even though we know we will have a reward greater than anything we could imagine. All that we are, all that we do, and all that we have and will have is because of the grace of God, and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. Alone, without God, without the work of Jesus, and without the indwelling of the Spirit, we are but poor lonely sinners unworthy of the crumbs from the master's table. But, praise God because he had favor on us, as we say, we can say, we have the unmerited favor of God, Jesus shed his blood for us, so that our sins are washed away, and forgiven and we have this favor, this influence of God on our hearts and thus our lives now reflect his glory. Everything has changed, yet we still have our duty, to follow the call on us, to obey that which we have been tasked to do, to be the part of the body of Christ that God has determined for us for His purpose, not ours. He is still God and we are still but his creation to do his will. Then are we friends and servants? 

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