Luke 17:7 (NASB) “But which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? 8 “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink’? 9 “He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
Many of us feel unappreciated or even unnoticed in the things we do in and out of church for our Lord. I feel that way at times myself, but as Jesus says here, we have only done what is expected of us.
“But, I’ve gone above and beyond what God has asked,” we might say. Is there really a standard that is above and beyond God’s expectations? God deserves everything:
Rom. 11:33-35 (NASB) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him again?
There can be nothing more than all that we can possibly give of ourselves and our treasure, which is above God’s expectations for us. If there were, God would be in our debt, and that would be an impossibility.
Jesus gave us two great commands: Mark 12:30-31 (NASB) “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’“The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
That’s a pretty high standard, as is loving our neighbor just as much as we love ourselves. As we’ve all heard: “All means all, and that’s all that all means.” When Jesus says we are to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, there is no room over and above all. We can’t do better than that.
Here are a couple of points to consider:
God’s worth is infinite: Psalm 145:3 (NASB) says, “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.”
Our obligation to God is total: 1 Cor. 6:20 (NASB) 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
So, no act of ours can exceed what we owe to God. This is all extremely one-sided, I know. He owes us nothing while we owe him everything. Even with this lopsided indebtedness, God seeks to reward us, to bless us, to “grace” us. The older I get, the more I recognize the incredible blessings God has graciously gifted to us and to those around us. He is truly not just a God of love, but love itself.
Why is this important?
If you’re waiting for someone to pat you on the back and constantly praise you for the work the Bible says you should have already done, work you were obliged to do, you’ll have a long wait. Our reward isn’t an earthly one even though we do receive blessings here. Our reward awaits us, a reward in which we can wrap ourselves in God’s love and light; we can dwell in the very presence of the one Being that is worthy of all honor and praise.
We do get a taste of that here on earth, but as Paul says, it’s no more than just a taste: 1 Cor. 13:12 (ESV) or now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Looking at the two commands Jesus has given us, we will be judged on how much we love God and how much love we show to all of our fellow men and women. I don’t think God will be impressed by our other achievements when He asks us, “What have you done for Me?” The answers will only come in two categories: What have you done to show your love for God, and what have you done to show your love for others?
If you’re still looking for approval, let me help: “Attaboy! You did great!” Now let’s go serve God and others.
Believers Armed and Dangerous 