24 June 2011

Serving the Ungrateful

Replace "deacon" with "Christian" in the statement below and see if it works for you:

Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho RoadA real deacon, then, can serve those who are not kind and grateful in return (Luke 6:35). Why? A Christian is no man's creditor, and every man's debtor. A Christian, when he is in his right mind, says "Look who I am in Christ! I have come to fullness of life in him. I will rule and reign with Christ forever. I am accepted in the Beloved. God will meet all my needs according to His riches in glory. Oh, world, you owe me nothing! I deserved hell, and now, by God's mercy, I am rich beyond the wildest dreams of an earthly billionaire. Do I need recognition, awards, pats on the back, expressions of gratitude? Does a billionaire mind when a thief steals a quarter from his pocket? How then shall I ever be shaken by an insult, a cold shoulder, or a thankless person." - From Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road by Tim Keller, pg. 138.

Can you fully agree with this statement above? It would be very difficult for most of us to live and think this way everyday, all day. May God give us the stength to desire nothing more than Him and Him alone and then to live our lives daily denying ourselves for Christ's sake.

1 comment:

Rick said...

I just heard this quote while listening to the book and had to find it to print it out. The shame is that your blog is the only place that I have found it on the web. Thanks for taking the time to share it.