When we were growing up one of my brother's favorite hymns was "I Want to Be a Worker" for the Lord. I am happy to say that both of my brothers grew up to be just that. They are both busy in the work of God's kingdom. I am so thankful for them. I'm the oldest child; but my brothers have taught me many things about service. Of course, this desire to serve and work came from my parents. That should be pretty obvious as we grew up with Dad as a minister of the gospel and Mom a school teacher.
Now I know there is no way that we can earn salvation. The Bible clearly teaches we are saved by grace. It also teaches that we are not to boast in our good works. However, we are supposed to be servants of righteousness. There are many verses in the Bible that clearly teach we are to serve the Lord. He did give us commandments to obey and one of those was to go and teach His message to others. That commandment was not only for the apostles. It is for all of us!
I Corinthians 15:58 says, "Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain." Can it be any plainer than that? Paul says we need to work for the Lord. Not only that, but we need to "abound" in this work.
I used to read this verse and think I was doing pretty well for myself spiritually. I thought, yes Lord Jesus- I believe in You. I know you are the Son of God -- my Wonderful Savior and Redeemer. I believe the Bible to be the Living Word of Your Father. I am steadfast in my faith in you, Christ Jesus. No one is ever going to change my mind. My faith is immovable. That's all well and good right?
The trouble is I stopped there. Apparently, my eyes didn't see or my hears didn't hear the second part of that verse. You know that dangerous part ... the part that says "always abounding in the work of the Lord." It took me a long time to realize that phrase was an equal part of that verse and that commandment.
Yes, I Corinthians 15:58 is a commandment. And Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" John 14:15. So what are we supposed to do? What does "always abounding" in His work mean anyway? Well, in pretty straight-forward terms it means "get busy and stay that way!" This does not apply to the preacher only or to the elders only. This verse is meant for all of us.
We are called to be His servants. After all He's done for us our service should be given willingly and cheerfully. Think about Christ and what he did while He was here. Our Lord and Savior was busy!
He explains the concept of service -- of work for Him -- perfectly in Mark 10:35-45. Here we find James and John seeking to have a place of pre-eminence in Christ's kingdom. The apostles thought Jesus was hear to establish an earthly kingdom and they wanted positions of power. When the other ten apostles heard about this request, they were angry and began to argue with James and John.
It is here that Christ sets the record straight. Mark 10:42-45 reads: "And Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Christ says He came to serve. If we are followers of Him, we must be ready to serve others as He did. He gave Himself for us. We must be willing to follow Him -- to serve Him. What do servant's do? They work! And they don't rest on their laurels either. We never reach a point where we can tell Jesus we have done enough.
Consider Luke 17:7-10. This passage has been in my heart and on my mind for several months now. I keep going back to it over and over again. And perhaps it deserves a post all its own ... but it has reminded me (when I do think of it) of the importance of humility in our service. And it also reminds me how busy God expects us to be in our work for Him. Just think about this passage:
"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at one and recline at table?' Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink?' Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty."
Yes, I think we are supposed to be busy for our Savior. There are so many passages that could be referred to regarding being a servant or being busy for the Lord. Before starting this post I looked up the word "servant" in the Bible. In the English Standard Version it is used 934 times. I think service is a very important concept to the Father, don't you?
Granted most of those verses are found in the Old Testament and refer to people who were servants to others. In the New Testament a few of these references are in regards to the servant/ master relationship. But even in these verses, we can understand that Christians are to be servants to Christ. He is our Lord and Master. Other verses in the New Testament where the word servant is used are in reference to Jesus being a servant. And several writers of the New Testament epistles (Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude) refer to themselves as servants of Christ.
We should want to Be Busy for God -- to be workers for Him -- to serve Him in any way we possibly can -- and with great humility. We must be ready to be used by Him. Jesus was a worker. If we are to be like Him, if we are to be with Him in heaven.. we must be ready to work.
It was His mission -- His strong desire to do the work of the Father. In John 4:34, Christ said, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work." Another passage showing Christ was focused on His mission is John 9:4. It is interesting to me that in the King James and New King James Version - this verse says "I must work the works of Him who sent me." But in several other versions (ESV, ASV and others) this verse reads "WE must work the works of Him who sent me." That we means me and you.
We see from John 9:4 that Jesus knew He was put here to work. We should understand that also. If we are to be like Christ, we must take up His mission. We should have the same focus.
The question is are we ready? Do we want to be workers for the Lord? After all, He died for us so that we could live for Him. Then someday we will live with Him. Christ will say "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Be Busy! For Him.
Christ above all things,
Robin
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