Respond With Service
Tuesday, September 20
Respond With Service
This is how the LORD responds: “If you return to me, I will restore you so you can continue to serve me. If you speak good words rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. You must influence them; do not let them influence you! Jeremiah 15:19
For the past twelve days the whole world has been impacted by the death of Queen Elizabeth. There have been some television specials focusing on her life. Irrespective of your views there are some lessons that we can take from her life. For me, I enjoy seeing the clip from the speech she made on her 21st birthday in Cape Town, when she publicly committed herself to a lifetime of service, whether her life be long or short. At the moment the Queen had no clue what she signed up for, only a glimpse of what it meant to rule. Throughout the years we can appreciate that she took her coronation vows seriously. We too made a vow on the day that we accepted Jesus as our Savior to be kingdom citizens and share the Good News of Jesus with everyone. A desire to serve the Lord should be the natural response of a sinner to the Savior who rescued us from eternal death.
Our Scripture for today contains a deeply challenging message. For there is an implied question in God’s word to Jeremiah about the real motives of the heart. God promised to restore the people if they repented, but what would they do with the restoration that God offered them? Would they, perhaps, shout “Whoopee” and dance off to continue living unchanged lives? Or would they, in brokenness and humility, and out of deep gratitude to the Lord, commit themselves to a life of loving service?
This question remains true for us today. Will we serve the King of Kings because of our deep love for the One who had restored us – the One who lifted our feet out of the miry clay and established their lives on the Rock?
Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Prayer for today: Thank You, Jesus, for Your supreme love manifested on the cross. Thank You for the restoration that You promise to repentant sinners. Help me, Lord, today to renew my own commitment to serve You now, and for the rest of my days. In Your Name, Amen.