Serve Well
13 November 2018
Hearing today’s readings leads me to an uncomfortable conclusion: Christian discipleship is not for softies.
The letter to Titus doesn’t pull any punches.
… what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world…
Softened up by that spiritual left hook, the Gospel smacks us from the right:
So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”
It doesn’t leave much room for power seeking, pride or vainglory does it? Renounce everything that doesn’t lead to God (Surely he can’t mean Twitter, Facebook and Instagram?) and give up ALL our worldly ambitions. And when we have let go of all the worldly stuff and committed ourselves to lives of humble service, we are not to look for pats on the back or any sort of flattery. Our attitude is to be, ‘We are servants, just doing our duty.’
Sounds a bit tough!
If you’re feeling a little discouraged, there is no need to be. The letter to Titus gives us the ‘why’ that underlies the Christian discipleship ‘what’:
we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus.
Whether we are to see him coming on the clouds of heaven or at the moment of our death, a face to face encounter with the Lord Jesus is not so far away for any of us. Life is short and eternity is long. Serve well now and rejoice with Jesus in heaven.
Doesn’t seem like such a bad deal, after all.