“ 7"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'? 8"But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? 9"He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.”
Luke 17:7-10
This has recently been on my mind.
I do not wish to at all detract from such a powerful reality that we are, indeed, adopted heirs; the Children of God! A Creation that he has lavishly loved upon. But, because this has been on my mind, I also do not want to leave out the message contained here.
Especially when you take this in light of the question that Jesus was answering from the previous verse:
“5The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 6And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you.”
Luke 17:5,6
The Apostles were asking of Jesus something that I have found myself praying time and time again; “Father, increase my faith!”
I think perhaps, like me, the Apostles did not have in mind the answer that they received at first.
His answer was then, and I believe is now, to tell them to make themselves as slaves to him; obeying His commands without the expectation to be rewarded, or praised! He instructed them in the very ways that He himself lived! To learn Humility and to wait compassionately upon their master as a slave does. Being the very Son of God, Jesus washed feet and fed the hungry—never asking to be served by others but instead to Sanctify God before all men!
This is something that I am still discerning. I believe that we should discern all things—and this can take time.
What are all of your thoughts on this?
How does this pertain to increasing our faith?
Comments (2)
Because you must have faith in the goodness of your master, that you are in debited to him, and yet in times of hardship... he will preserve you .
@TheGiantSlayer@xanga - Yes, definitely. I think you are right in that. We have to simply do what we are supposed to do, as a slave does, and trust in God for the sufficiency of all other things.