Luke 17:7 - I'm Done Doing Things For God!

Tuesday 2/28/12 – I’m Done Doing Things For God!

Luke 17:7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’?

Interpretation:

     So picture this verse. There are two settings: one is in the field and the other is inside the house. First the servant is working in the fields and then he comes into the house where there’s food. Can you think of another time Jesus gives a parable with someone working in the field and someone eating in a house? Give up? Well, if you said the parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15, that was the same one I was thinking of. In that parable, the younger brother comes home to his father and was planning on asking him to take him back as a servant. The father, however, doesn’t even listen to him but welcomes his lost son home and throws a party. So while the party is going on and they are eating inside the house, the older son comes back home from working in the field and gets mad that his dad is throwing a party for his brother inside the house. He complains how he has been serving his father all these years and hasn’t once even gotten a little goat to party with his friends. Obviously, from the older son’s reply, it’s plain to see which son loves his father and which one just works for him.

     So the question we must ask ourselves is “Which servant are we?” Are we servants serving for God, or are we servants serving God? I’ll say it again in case you missed that little word in there – are we servants serving for God, or are we servants serving God? Are we doing things for God, or are we doing God things? What’s the difference you might wonder. Well, the way this verse reads, it sure sounds as though the master is inside the house. When the servant is in the field, he is just doing tasks for his master. Likewise, in the story of the prodigal son, the older son is just working for his father. However, when the servant comes into the house, he changes from doing work and doing things for his master to serving his master. In both cases he is serving, but it’s when the servant is inside the house that he can realize that his master is there with him while he serves.

     For me personally coming from a tendency to be legalistic about obeying God and doing the right thing, I can relate. So often, I’ll do something because God says to and so I do it for Him. I do what I’m supposed to just like the older son in the parable of the prodigal son. However, I find that this is not the best way to be a servant. Don’t get me wrong, doing things for God is great; serving others for God is great, too. But my point is, it’s not until we realize that we as Christians don’t just work in the field all day doing things for God, but we come into the house with Him and serve Him personally, that our viewpoint and attitude on serving God will change drastically. When you do something He tells you to, picture yourself serving Him while He’s there with you. When you help someone else, picture yourself serving Him personally. I don’t know about you, but I for one want to be done working in the field; it’s hard work out there. I think it’s time for me to come inside and start serving my master personally.

 Application:

     Anything that I do today, whether it be serving someone else or obeying God by doing something I believe He is calling me to do, I will remind myself that I am serving God personally and not just doing a work for Him.