Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen One in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not be disheartened or crushed, until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.
Christian service is certainly an important and necessary aspect of living a balanced Christian life. Most growing Christians, however, are unbalanced in their approach to this vital area of Christian living. "Where should I serve?" and "What ministry is best for me?" are the usual questions that we ask about Christian service. Proper balance should also include questions such as: "Do I meet the qualifications of a good servant?" and "How do I become the kind of servant God uses?" In fact, these questions should really be considered before we move on to the where and what of Christian service.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect model Servant....
-David R. Reid
I don’t know if you guys remember my prayer at the Leadership retreat… My prayer was full of guilt and sincere repentance after hearing Kwijung’s testimony. Why? Because the first two questions above was my attitude joining the Leadership Committee. Rather than humbling before God for such privilege, I laid out terms and conditions. I only wanted to serve for perfectly structured committee. I only wanted to team up with talented and tolerable people. I wanted my talent and involvement to be center of attention.
Then, God used Kwijung’s testimony to help me realize that my attitude of servanthood was DANGEROUSLY wrong. Then I questioned “Do I have the right heart to be God’s servant?”
Ouch! Isaiah 42:1-4 is a perfect message for me….
3 comments:
a bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.
this line perfectly depicts the gentleness, compassion and servant heart of our Savior.
even if our faith is so weak and so small, like a dimly burning wick,
He will not extinguish us.
and even if our Christian lives have been weakened by many failures and deficiencies, if we are beset by backsliding and guilt and hard-heartedness, like a bruised reed about to fall off its stem,
He will not break us off.
"if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, FOR HE CANNOT DISOWN HIMSELF" (2 Timothy 2:13)
Jesus ransomed His own life to save crushed, bruised reeds, and dimly lit, dying embers.
though we are all so far from what we ought to be, let us serve "the least of the least", even as Jesus did.
"The transformation is brought about by love-personal devotion to Jesus.
Love is the overflowing result of one person in true fellowship with another." from my utmost for his highest
Thanks for sharing Ji!
In 2008, let's pray for one another that we might all cultivate hearts that are grateful to serve. Can you imagine what great things God could do through our group if we were willing and grateful to serve in any capacity that was asked?
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