Never More Than The Cross

Luke 17:7-10

NKJV

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?  But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not.  So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.”

A servant doesn't stop being a servant. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, or how much work I’ve already done. It’ll never be more than the work that was done on the cross. Nothing I do here on earth will ever compare to the works that Christ did for me and for others. He never stopped being a servant at heart, even when He went alone to pray on the mountaintops. Something that was shared this past Sunday was that the heart is the center of Gods economy. How true that is, especially in the realm of serving. When Gods see’s my heart toward what I’m doing and weighs it to be directed toward glorifying Him, He will have no problem supplying me with the strength, endurance and a full heart to continue the works He sets before me. This is comforting to hear in light of where I’m being sent for my field time, Uganda. We will be teaching kids and doing kids ministry from day one and if I don't go in with my heart set to heaven, I can expect a heart tainted with leaven which will bring my whole heart down. I cant afford to be a servant thats not able to serve because hes got heart issues. God wants to use me. He wants to use all of me to the point where the only reason I’m still going is by the power of His Holy Spirit. I expect to reach that point of ultimate defeat in myself, and I hope and pray that when it comes I’ll receive it with joy and open arms. Not that I already dont understand the fact that the end of myself is the beginning of Him, but I havent quite reached that point where I’m sold out and God is the only one who has the product I need to stay alive. I have been too sick with the “self” disease for too long, and I’m sick of it. I’m grateful for the three months we are spending training, for its given opportunity for me to learn going to God when myself is ended. I’m being sent to Uganda to have a rock that will shatter my “self” to dust and have God use that dust to fashion a vessel better suited to pour out His Spirit and love with. Thankfully, I’ve already had some small rocks dropped on me here, so the rock in Uganda wont be quite as destructive, but I still expect it'll be rough at first. And at the end of it all, may I be able to confidently say I am an unprofitable servant, who did what was my duty to do, and even went above and beyond what was asked of me.