Gotta Serve Somebody

Our Lord’s first obedience was to the will of His Father, not to the needs of men; the saving of men was the natural outcome of His obedience to the Father.  (From: Chambers, O. (1986). My Utmost For His Highest: Selections For The Year)

It’s hard not to get overwhelmed.

Everywhere you turn there are multiplied needs.  You don’t have to be a Christian or a religious person to see it…

…simply human. 

It’s on every channel of TV (so I’m told), it’s on the radio, in the margins of your browser, check your twitter feed, CBC, CTV, GLOBALnews…

…#troubleintheworld

(I don’t know what that is …it just seemed to fit☻)

I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a police officer (an early dream), Fire and Rescue, Paramedic, Nurse, Doctor… I have challenge enough just trying to journey with people through spiritual challenges! (…and let’s be honest, for the most part those are easy to hide so I’m sure I don’t see more than 10% of those).

So-o-o-o many needy people

So how did Jesus manage?  The first in all of history who could meet every need He saw… heal every disease… cure every illness… restore every broken, lifeless, fragile heart.

John, the gospel-writer, records  an incident in which Jesus visited a place that was crowded with the needy.  According to John 5:3, “a multitude of sick-blind, lame and paralyzed”.  That is to say – the needy, the powerless, the broken, the weak, the feeble and so-on.  Jesus, John records, steps through this multitude and heals one man… a single person from the crowd.

We all think, “If that were me, I would have waved my hand and healed them all!”

…because we are slaves to our own neediness. 

Christ served not the needy… but the Father. 

That’s the point Chambers is trying to make in that opening quote.

The theological knots in this are perhaps beyond my pay-grade but the basic question is one we all need to wrestle through…

Who you gonna serve?

…as Dylan said… You gotta serve somebody…

…just sayin’

Holding Nothing Back

A number of years ago I wrote a book.  It was called “When the Leaders Led”.  I wrote it mainly because a number of folks kept encouraging me to put some of the stuff I was teaching into a format that could be used by churches and ministries.  In my mind it was designed to be a practical tool to help worship and music ministries.

It’s sold out and out of print now but back in the day I remember reading comments on a worship website where someone quoted my book.  They got the words right but totally missed the point I was trying to make… I think my reaction may have involved some shouting at the screen and pacing about the room …followed by the realization that once you put something out there you can’t control how it’s going to be used.

All of that to say this: Here are some words from Oswald Chambers.

“Never reserve anything. Pour out the best you have, and always be poor.”

Those words have had kind of a ringing effect on me.  They keep echoing through my thinking.  I confess I may not be thinking exactly what the author was thinking when he wrote those words but he does mention in the following in the same section:

“The grace you had yesterday will not do for to-day. Grace is the overflowing favour of God; you can always reckon it is there to draw upon.”

This morning my reading came from Exodus 16.  That’s the story of God’s provision of manna to His people in the desert.  Each family was supposed to gather just enough food for the day… and trust that God would provide tomorrow’s food… tomorrow.

Can I trust God to provide what I need when I need it, or do I insist on a safety net.  “Look, God I’m sure You can provide what I will need tomorrow but just in case You get busy and forget…  or get angry… let me take a little extra.”

I wonder if we sometimes try to store up grace just in case it runs out.  Not like runs out exactly but… you know… maybe God forgets… gets too busy… or too angry to give us more.

When we horde grace we call God a liar… a poor provider… a covenant breaker.  His promise is grace beyond measure.  Grace never-ending! 

Unlike manna that only came at certain times of the day…

Unlike manna that I had to go out to collect…

His totally sufficient grace is ever-ready and overwhelmingly available every- and anytime I need it.

…I suppose that’s what makes it grace.

So that grace that you have?  Don’t try to reserve or save it.  Poor it all out… ALL of it… try to be “grace-poor”!  God has promised that can never… will never happen so stop being so stingy with it!

…just sayin’

(Oswald Chamber quotes from My Utmost for His Highest)