Of course we're saved by grace alone received by faith. But once saved, Christ calls us to a life of discipline, obedience, loyalty, tough love and hard graft.
In the earliest days of my Christian life, I saw this modelled brilliantly by Ken & Margaret, my Pathfinder leaders. They opened their home & their lives to us; they were there every Friday without fail at club night; they were there every Sunday without fail at church; they led a summer camp and took us away for weekends. Ken was a teacher and they had two small children, but their commitment and love for us was unwavering.
Ken & Margaret made a huge impression on me. I wish I could live up to their example. What could motivate a new generation of Christians to this kind of service?
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says,
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.Always...give yoursleves...fully...to the work...of the Lord. This is a big demand - a great exhortation. But why and how? Why should I give myself always and fully to this work of the Lord? And how can I do this? What will motivate me?
Well, Paul begins this verse with an often ignored but key word - 'Therefore...' or, 'So then...' It's because of what he's just been saying. That's what will empower us for this total commitment to the Lord's work. And what have the previous 57 verses been about? The power and certainty of the resurrection. Until and unless we grasp that this life is not all there is, we will never be able or willing to give oursleves wholly to Christ's service. But when we realise that by his own total self-giving - by his death & resurrection - Christ has won the most wonderful place in eternity for us, then we can put this life in its proper perspective. Even if we die an early death because of our total commitment to Christ, we have lost nothing and gained everything.
Not only that, but at the beginning of this section, Paul says,
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.Grace is not just about initial salvation. It's what empowers people like Ken & Margaret for service. It's grace that persuades us to give ourselves for others.
Now this begins with the commitment to be at church each and every Sunday - morning and evening if appropriate. Just being there encourages everyone. Being there says very loudly to other members, 'I am committed to you because Christ was and is committed to me.'
But of course it doesn't stop there. Everyone has gifts to use. If God has been kind enough to gift you by his Spirit for works of service, who are you to refuse to use the gift? But so many do, and it damages the body of Christ. We must commit ourselves to pray that Christ would be glorified and honoured in our churches. We must give serious money for the work of sharing Christ with others.
Yes, we're saved by grace received by faith. But that grace doesn't stop there. God continues to be at work in us by his Spirit to glorify Christ. Who are we to deny Christ, who died for us, of his rightful glory and honour? And if givign our all to Christ means an early end to this life, so what? The best is yet to come!
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
It's also relevant that if we are loved by Jesus and love him, we'd want to please him. So personally I want to be part of a fellowship of believers, and to love my neighbour by serving. Early in my Christian life I found myself asking why so many lay people in that church gave such an immense amount of time to the work of that fellowship and concluded it was for those reasons.
ReplyDeleteDavid Brock