Humble Service & Generous Lifestyle...part 2...Mark 9:30-41

 

I took this photo of the courthouse of Waushara County just recently.  I was curious to why wherever there was a "u" needed, a "v" was put in its place.  For example, instead of "court" it is etched into the stone "covrt".  I was thinking that it is probably easier to chisel a "v" rather than a "u" because of the curves but then we have "c" and "o" and "r" in the word that have curves as a part of their letters.  

After some internet digging, did you know that "v" was used for both "v & u" until "u" was added?  This was also the case of "i" for "j" which is the last letter added to the English alphabet.  "I" and "V" were doing double duty for awhile.  Have you ever felt you were doing "double duty" and could use another "letter" to help you out?  Some stages of life put you in that place being pulled from both directions but sometimes it is because we have become a society of consumers instead of servers...even within the church body. 

In our passage we find the disciples again struggling to be "king of the hill" in Jesus' kingdom and He has to set them straight.  It is so hard to go against the grain of the popular society to live according to God's economy.  We are yelling "We're number 1!" and Jesus is saying to move to the back of the line and serve others while you are there  (Mark 9:35).  

Pride comes with the world's system.  It fuels whatever gets done.  But pride limits us to seeing what God can do because we limit what God can do in relationship to our limited resources.  God's arms are only as long as our amount of cattle in the fields and fish in the sea (Numbers 11:21-23).  We don't experience what God can do and provide because it is reserved for those who truly trust Him.

I want to stay in the camp that sees God's arm stretch down and do what He said He would do.  This requires that we don't abandon prayer to God and replace it with pride in our abilities.  It requires that we continue to make God bigger than what we can imagine.  He is where we are not and His view is always superior to our own.

I want to develop this thought more about spiritual gifts and serving.  For the Christian you can't have one without the other.  Your spiritual gift is seen while you are serving and while you are serving your spiritual gift is apparent to others.  You can be serving on the nursery team and you have the spiritual gift of teaching, it will come out!  You can be serving on the set up team and you have the spiritual gift of encouragement, it will come out!  You can be serving on the men's ministry team and you have the gift of mercy, it will come out!  

The very nature of the God given spiritual gift to His children is married to service.  The spiritual gift is not identifiable outside the act of service.  

Adam