A Servant of Christ [1 Corinthians 4]

1Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

2In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. 3But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. 4For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.



I have been pondering what it means to be a servant of Christ. A couple of years ago I watched the movie Cleopatra and realized that I did not have a good picture of what it means to be a servant.   I began to take note of the servant girls who were devoted to serve the queen.  They stood there in constant attendance but did not do anything until the queen nodded or asked.  When another official came and demanded they do something different than what the queen had requested they disregarded his command and stayed true to the queen.  Their pure devotion is what fascinated me and I began to think about my own idea of serving the Lord. 

Me, well, I look at the situation and determine what needs to be done and then I jump in head-long and do that thing, thinking all the time that I am being a servant.  In contrast, those young servant girls probably saw many things that they could do to help out but they did not move until beckoned.  Or at least they asked the queen before they combed her hair, or the routine things.  Sometimes it was a look or a wave of the hand but always they knew what her desire was before they proceeded. 

God used another passage to begin to speak to my heart as I was pondering this idea of what it means to be a servant.  The first one is Psalm 123:1-2, “To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, until He is gracious to us.”  This passage meant something different for me after seeing that movie.  Now the comparison makes sense.  My eyes should be on the Lord, waiting for Him to show His desires not on the things I think need to be done. 

 

Lord, please cause me to keep my eyes on You, my King.  Thank You, for giving me the opportunity to serve Christ and to be a steward of Your mysteries.  Make me trustworthy as You are trustworthy.

To read another article from 1 Corinthians 4, read "What Does God Think About the Work I am Doing?
Verna McCrillis, 6/2/2009