Most people who believe in Jesus say it is right for them to be used for God’s work, since they are saved. Yet many people reject God’s calling when He actually tries to use them. For them, there is a separate calling from God that they want. They do not bear in mind that God’s calling is accomplished through the church. They are looking down on the church, just as worldly people reject it.
Some people are not like this at all. They are Christians. Many people receive the grace of salvation, but not all of them become Christians. Christians do not live for themselves. They offer their own lives and honor the work of Christ. The Lord does not make the choice for them, but they each make an enormous decision by changing the direction of their lives.
Christians do not pursue lives of faith for themselves. They make sacrifices for other Christians. They do not calculate personal interest when they preserve the work which Christ created by His devotion. Christians make themselves into soldiers for this. They have no time in boasting about themselves or perfecting themselves. This is because they have so much work to handle.
When Christians love the Lord, they do not try to repay what they received from Him. Their love for the Lord already goes beyond this. They love the Lord one-sidedly and unrequitedly. Whether the Lord abandons or holds on to them, or whether the Lord acknowledges or is unconcerned about them, they cannot help loving the Lord.
When Christians live faithfully, they give no thought to rewards on earth. Christians are always faithful, even if they understand the possibility that they will fall apart. They do not stop walking, though they expect to be crushed and broken. They do not have second thoughts when situations turn unfavorably for them. They are loyal people.
The church of Christ is protected by Christians. Christians are concerned when the church is despised by the world. When the world despises the church, they are anxious with the need to protect people’s spirits to the end, since they are loved by Christ. Even if they cannot receive praise, they rejoice when they see the church improving. But people with no heart to sacrifice themselves for the church and only desire to be better than others can never bear the title of ‘a Christian’.
The Lord encountered every kind of contempt while He was on earth, but a few people still served Him without expectation of reward. The Lord safely finished His work with their help. The world considers the church as insignificant. People still disrespect the Lord even in the church. But the Lord will be exalted by those who fulfill their duty, though they are a minority, and His work will continue.
(Lord’s Day Service on October 17, 2021)
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