Darrell Cardwell
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 Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:35 pm Post subject: No Longer A Servant |
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No Longer A Servant
There is an old story about a man who was hired to paint the old church in
his little town. As he was just about finished he was close to the top of
the steeple when he noticed he was just about to run out of paint. In order
to be resourceful and finish the job he thinned the paint down a little bit
with some water and completed the job. That night there was a major
thunderstorm and the paint on top of the steeple started running, being
washed away from the driving rain. The next morning the painter went to the
church to collect his payment for the work he had done. When he got there he
noticed the church trustees were standing outside looking at the steeple
where the paint had been washed away. Just as he got up to where the
trustees were doing the inspection the heavens opened up and there was a
loud voice from the throne of God. God said, "Repaint you thinner and thin
no more." I share this story because I am learning a lot about painting.
Our great congregation is working together to paint the inside of the
parsonage. It is great how everyone is pitching in helping with the
project. Our folks are painting, cleaning, and sprucing the parsonage for
my wife and me to move in. Today I had some of the best homemade vegetable
soup that I have ever eaten prepared by one of the men in our church.
Remember I know good food. The best part, it was "AYCE" Vegetable Soup,
needless to say I had more than one serving.
In the Bible, Jesus makes an interesting statement to his disciples. He
said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I
learned from my Father I have made known to you." After reading this
passage from the Gospel of John I made a decision. I no longer want to be
a servant of God and His son, Jesus. I want to be a friend of Jesus. By
being a friend I can know the Master's business. In scripture Jesus tells
us what the Master's Business is. In the Gospel of Luke 4:14-21 it says
"Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him
spread through the whole countryside. He taught in their synagogues, and
everyone praised him. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and
on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he
stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.
Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the
Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor. "Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat
down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he
began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your
hearing." In these few short verses, Jesus tells us what the Master's
Business is. I too want to be about the Master's business, no longer a
servant but a friend of Jesus Christ. |
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