I Tim 3: 9 “…holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience.” Mysterious is the faith in the Son of God who came from heaven to earth in the flesh to give His life for ours. Not only the unfathomable, supernatural concept of salvation, but the desire of God to demonstrate His great love for His creation through sending His Son Jesus Christ to show us how to serve one another.
How often I have prayed to be a faithful servant of God! Words of loyalty; commitments of service to individuals, groups, and leadership; tearful confessions of ambition or apathy; shocking realizations of failure in that which I poured out my heart and soul – describes “My glory…” that is, my inner being seeking to please God, man, or self. At the end of the day nothing will matter more to me than if I served God well.
This desire to be a faithful servant has the potential to put me in overdrive. Like yesterday when I raced to complete each task hoping to do my best and praying that God would show up. At the end of the day, I reflected on all that I had wanted to accomplish. Though everything was not done as I had planned, I realized that God did not dwell in my works. Instead, I saw Him through the eyes and words of others that spoke more about my efforts in building relationships than any product of my hand. It’s real to say that I did not walk away patting myself on the back saying, “Good job.” In fact, only my faith in the God who loves me is able to take away the sting of an honest evaluation of any one day. There is always room for improvement.
Still, I can pray these words from I Kings 8:23 “…Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keeps Your covenant and shows mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all of their hearts.” God’s mercy is the golden ring of serving; for being a faithful servant means putting oneself out there for others to see and making mistakes along the way. Mercy is the Way to receive joy in serving. So I look to Jesus Christ with all of my heart. He is the example of perfect servant-hood. He gives His servants mercy, and when I look to Him, like the psalmists of old, my inner being begins to sing – “To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent…” Psalm 30:12.
At the end of the day, my song may not be original, but what is amazing is that God does fill me with His presence when I praise Him, when I sing to Him, and when I meditate on His word. Mysterious is this faith that produces supernatural peace at the end of the day and hope for new mercies in the morning.
Sixty-six books in a year 