| Subject: Devotional #25; August 24, 2001 |
Author:
Gail
| [ Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
]
Date Posted: 06:32:57 08/24/01 Fri
Topic—Servant Leaders
Power Point—Now matter what our spiritual or physical age, we have been empowered to do great things for God.
This Week’s Memory Verses—Matthew 20:27–28
Access Database—Matthew 20:1–16
Take the Gold
by Eric Partin
It was the first lap of the 2-mile run. The boy in first place was about 25 yards ahead of me. He finished his first lap in about 69 seconds. That put him on course for running a 9-minute 2-mile run, which would not only be a county record for ninth graders in the state of Florida, but a state record as well. Therefore, I let him go. Everybody was cheering for him because someone was finally going to beat me. I had not lost a race all season long. By the start of the third lap, I had reeled him in. I lapped him on my seventh lap, at which point he dropped out.
People really get excited when you start out like a speeding locomotive. But the excitement quickly fades when you run out of fuel because you failed to estimate your speed in relation to the length of the race. Jesus’ description is perfect for helping us understand this principle: "So it is. Everyone who is now first will be last, and everyone who is last will be first." You see, to God it’s not so much how you start, it’s how you finish that counts. To be L.A.S.T. in the kingdom, we have to finish the race.
When I first started working at UPS, I quickly realized that seniority rules. The drivers who had worked there the longest got all the cushy routes. They had first dibs on all the best vacation time. They could also get whatever days off they needed, regardless of their attitudes or performance. It was all based on who had been there the longest. This is totally contrary to the illustration Jesus gave on the kingdom of heaven and what it was like.
In Matthew 20, we see that God is not a respecter of persons or seniority. It’s not how long you’ve been a Christian that counts, it’s what you did while you were a Christian and how you finished the race. This is an empowering story, because it releases you to do incredible things for God in spite of your age, sex or length of time as a Christian. The only limitations you have are the ones you place on yourself.
Now go back and read Matthew 20:1–16 one more time.
Identity Matrix—Disciples of Christ...
Know God—In what way did God reveal Himself to you as you read His Word?
Live for God—What one lifestyle change is God calling you to make?
Love Others—In what way is God calling you to minister to someone in need?
Bear Fruit—In what ways will you set the example and the standard for others to follow?
[
Next Thread |
Previous Thread |
Next Message |
Previous Message
] |
|
Feedback: 