Servants to Christ

Today's devotional from "at home with the word" is based on Romans 1:1-7.

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Did you know that Paul was a servant of Christ?
I did. :) What can I say, I grew up in a Christian home, attended church most of my life, and went to a Christian Bible College where I earned a degree in Bible and Social Work and Education. Good years for the most part.

So what does it mean to be a servant? According to Merriam-Webster a servant is:

one that serves others servant>; especially : one that performs duties about the person or home of a master or personal employer

A servant does duties for another person. That's what comes down to. A servant does stuff that someone else wants done.

So to be a servant of Christ means that we do the things that Christ wants us to.

For Paul that meant preaching the good news, for going where and when he was sent. He endured hardship of all sorts. For a couple of my friends that means being on the mission field, for another - playing in the church band and leading it, for another it means getting out of her quiet shell and being willing to put on plays on the streets of downtown Kitchener. Not always so easy to do.

For me, right now in my life, it means being challenged on a personal level, while I learn to HAPPILY keep home for a hubby and raise a child to love God. It means not being afraid to stand true for my faith in God even in a workplace filled with immoral people. Of trying to show folks that true believers really aren't scary or something to be derided.

Of course one is usually a servant for a good reason. In the working world for pay and benefits, in the everyday life world for the joy/desire/whatever of just helping out your fellow man, and in the Christian world part of it is just because of the promises of God.

God promised the world a Saviour. This is a promise that he made a long time ago. He would send his son, who would indeed be God in the flesh, as well as a full human. This Son of God would be raised from the dead. It is through him that we receive God's Grace. This son is Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the hope of all the nations, he is the one to whom we are obedient to by faith! This is our hope. This is our salvation. And this is why we are servants to him.

Let us not forget this in our Christmas celebrations.