Make Me a Better Slave

Father, make me a good and faithful slave of Jesus, my Master, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb who was slain, the One who was, is, and is to come.

You have created the world through Him.
You sustain the world through Him.
You will judge the world through Him.
You will redeem all who trust in Him through Him.

And you have blessed my eyes, ears, and heart so that they see, hear, and know these truths.

What a gospel!  The Messiah of the Jews, who they have desired for generations upon generations, for whom I had no desire, has given me life.  If You had left me to myself, I would have wallowed in my sin all the way to hell.  Father, help me to long for my Savior far more than I once longed for my sin.  Help me not to look ultimately at His cross, on which He died for my sins, but at Him, in all His glory and splendor.

He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  He is the only way.  He is the only truth.  He is the only life.  Because I have sinned against You, an eternal being, only an eternal punishment will satisfy divine justice.  You have made this world such that there are only two possibilities.  Because each and ever person who has ever lived or will ever live has sinned and/or will sin, each person must either pay the eternal punishment with his body and soul in hell; or trust in the One who paid the penalty for all of the sins of all who trust in Him- past, present, and future.

On judgment day, Jesus will have created and sustained every person who stands before His judgment seat.  To some He will say “depart,” and those He will cast into hell to receive the judgment which they deserve, while to others He will say, “Well done, good and faithful slave You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” -Matthew 25:21, 23

Father, if the last year and a half have shown me anything, it is that I cannot do this alone.

Just as I could not have been born unless you had formed me and commanded that I live, so I could not have been born again apart from Your good hand and Your voice bidding me, “Come.”  Just as I never would have come, unless You took away all of my excuses and overcame all of my reluctance, so I cannot take a single step toward righteousness without You.  Just as I would never have believed unless You drew me to Your Son, so I need You to draw me closer still.  Just as I never would have been His slave but for the joy that You set before me in Him, so I cannot become a good and faithful slave unless You continue to bless my eyes, ears, and heart to see, hear, and know that there is no joy apart from Him.

Just as the joy beyond the cross led Him to suffer it and despise the shame, convince my heart that the joy beyond slavery to Him- the day when I see His face and He calls me “friend” rather than “slave”- is beyond comparison with all of the suffering and shame that this world has to spew out upon His slaves.

Father, make me a good and faithful slave of Jesus, my Master, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb who was slain, the One who was, is, and is to come.

The Divide Between Theology and Life

Theologically, I understand that we are all messed up sinners who need God and need our neighbor every moment of our lives.  Without God first and our neigbor second, we are guaranteed to sin against the living God.

However, I struggle with transitioning this theology into my life.  In my pride and sinful self-sufficiency, I try to do things on my own.  And I fall on my face on my own.  With others, I know that all the people with whom I interact are messed up sinners who need God and need their neighbor every moment of their lives.  Moreover, I know that I am called by the word of God to bear the burdens of my brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are called to bear mine.

But, in an effort to bear my own burdens, I fall on my face.  And, by failing to bear others’ burdens, I am most certainly letting them fall on their faces.

For the glory of God, the sake of Jesus’ bride and gospel, and the good of our souls, may God grant me the grace to seek help with my own burdens and seek to help others with theirs.  And may the gates of hell suffer greatly!