Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Colossians 3:23-24
Ever since I was a child, I have hated conflict of any kind. Even though I know that it is not real, conflict in a movie or TV drama can cause me to pace or stress eat. Even a useful debate causes stress. That does not mean that I do not engage when I perceive the need, but even when I am firm in my conviction, I do not enjoy the process. However, there are two conflicts in which I engage on a daily basis. The first battlefield is my health. While I do my best to appease my health issues and mitigate my symptoms, there are times when they interfere with my life on some level or severely hamper my ability to function for a period of time. When I find I can’t win the battle, I am forced to retreat and let the symptoms run their course allowing Christ’s grace to be sufficient. As godly as that may sound it’s not easily achieved because the other war that I’m fighting is my nature to sin. It’s a daily battle and the more I seek to live a godly life, the more Satan seems to wage war against me. I regularly quote the words of Paul: “I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:23-24) Of course verse 25 goes on to answer the question by reminding us that “God through Jesus Christ our Lord” is doing just that. It is that last phrase that I’d like to focus on.
This week Christians around the globe are celebrating Easter. It is a time when extra attention is given to the work of Christ our Savior and His glorious resurrection. We happily accept His very costly but freely offered gift of salvation; but what follows? I have yet to meet anyone who would refuse a good gift…especially a costly one. Consequently, we readily enjoy the thought of Christ as our savior. However, after His resurrection, Christ returned to Heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the father to rule. (Hebrews 12:2) Similarly, after we accept Christ as our savior, our next action is to begin making Him lord of our lives. That’s the point of Colossians 3:23-24. After receiving His precious gift, we begin the process of serving the Lord Christ and that compels us to submit our will to His and to do every task to the best of our ability no matter how menial. As I considered this post and what exactly should compel us to wage war against our natural tendencies, the forces of evil seeking to undermine our relationship with God and the culture that surrounds us, God moved my focus to the three persons of the Trinity.
Obviously, if we are discussing Christ as our lord, we should consider what moves us to serve Him as Lord. While there are more reasons than can be covered here, consider the following. Colossians 1:17 reminds us that our very existence is sustained by Christ. Should we not happily endeavor to honor through submission and service the One who supports our very being? Gratitude is another compelling reason. By His grace we are able to clothe ourselves in righteous behavior in this life and on that day when we stand in judgment before God the father, we will be clothed in Christ’s righteousness and we will stand faultless (Colossians 1:21-23) fully reconciled to God. When we make Christ our Lord by consistently living a life of obedience, we share the gospel through our actions. (Matthew 5:13-16) Finally, when we serve our Lord faithfully and trust Him in all things, we are rewarded with peace. As we are called to partake in Christ’s suffering and the effects of sin in the world still impact us, we may not be comfortable, but Christ promises us that we can be at peace in the midst of the struggle. (John 14:27-28) When we dutifully serve Christ our Lord, we honor Him, show our gratitude to Him, share our testimony, and live peaceful lives.
When Christ promised a life of peace, He also promised help from the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, advocate and aide in the war against temptation and sin. When we faithfully serve our Lord and follow His commands, we are choosing to deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit and give Him free reign to guide us and protect us. However, when we do not, we strain the relationship by grieving the Holy Spirit, diminish His work within us by quenching His Spirit and thereby weaken our defenses. Consequently, when we make Christ lord of our lives by setting our self-serving behavior aside, we are also opting for a position of strength through the Holy Spirit to meet the challenges that we will ultimately face.
1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us that everything we do should be “for the glory of God.” John 5:23 says: “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.” And Philippians 2:11 instructs us that when we acknowledge Jesus as Lord that it is to the Glory of the Father. Consequently, when elect to serve Christ as our Lord and follow His example of obedience, we are glorifying God the Father as well.
In the end, the choice is simple: do we serve ourselves or serve Christ as our Lord? It is not enough to merely accept Christ as our savior, but we are called to make Him lord of our lives as well. When we do, we not only draw closer to Christ, but also draw closer to the Holy Spirit and God the Father. Daily we are called to take up our cross and follow Christ; daily we are called to submit our will to His and obediently serve Him. When we do, we tell the world that we are His, we are filled to greater measure with the Spirit and we glorify our Father in Heaven.
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.
Will