unworthy

“will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘come at once and recline at table’? will he not rather say to him ‘prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? so you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘we are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'”

luke 17: 7-10

the Lord used that scripture the other night to really test my heart on a not-so-great day. it made me think about what it was exactly that i have been commanded to do.

if i am a follower of the Lord, then i commanded to love Him with all my heart, soul and mind. if i am a wife, then i commanded to respect and serve my husband. if i am a mom, then i am commanded to raise my children in the knowledge of the Lord. if i am a member of God’s family, then i am commanded to build His church and His kingdom.

these commandments are the basic duties of what it looks like for me to serve the Lord. they are not things i choose to do as a favor to my family or those around me. they are not the things that i should be praised for doing. they are not the things that i do with a spirit of martyrdom. but how often i get that wrong.

and yes, the good news of  Jesus is that there is grace and love so undeserving. but, help me remember i am an undeserving servant when i am acting like an entitled child. especially when i acting like an entitled child. help me remember that you freely give these gifts, but that it’s on no merit of my own.

give me a heart to serve that’s only motive is obedience. a heart that says “i am an unworthy servant, i have only done what was my duty.”