Equal Measure!

Equal Measure! 

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12 KJV

Following on from our focus yesterday, today's extract is also taken from the sermon on the Mount, where Jesus spoke to his disciples. The crowd, as always, was there, listening to his words, but the bible was careful to mention that he called his disciples to him, and when they had sat down, he taught them. The life instructions that Jesus gives are for those who have surrendered their lives to him. As much as God desires that the whole world should know and seek him, he will not force himself on anyone or compel anyone to seek and serve him. The decision to follow and obey Christ must flow out of a heart that appreciates what is on offer and knows that s/he is better off with Christ. 

In placing today's extract in context, Jesus warns those who follow him to be careful about judging others or making assumptions about another person's servant. If I am a servant of God, bound to God to serve and follow him, how is another person's life and pattern of service my business, as long as there is no error in his way? I note that judgment and correction are not the same thing, and I must be careful about the state of my heart when I am asked to correct. I cannot come with a heart of pride about my victories or achievements; I can't plead self-righteousness or esteem; I am a product of grace and whatever it is I think I have achieved is a reflection of God's mercy and favour. When I approach a fellow man, I must keep in mind what I have been saved from, where I have come from, and where God has taken me from. 

That is where today's extract makes sense. I cannot demand from other servants what I am not ready to serve to other people. I demand respect from another servant, forgetting that I am also a servant. Titles deceive us; make us think we are bigger and better than others who do not have the same titles as us. We remind them, in the event that they forget, that the grace of God upon our lives is bigger than that in their own lives. Unfortunately, God's grace is given to ALL men without favouritism. It is possible that my personal response to that grace and the way God chooses to dispense it may differ from person to person, but it is not a proof that one person's grace is better than the other. I must keep at the back of my mind that there is an account to be rendered of all that God has placed in my hand and heart. 

He places servants like myself to supply that which I lack, and for me to also supply that which they lack. We are all servants of the same Most High God, who demands commitment, devotion and dedication to duty from all of us. Irrespective of dispensation, whether under the old or the new testament, that rule about service remains the same: I can only demand from people that which I am willing and ready to give to other people. Check out the lives of any one person in the bible, whether old or new testament, who got away with hypocrisy and eye-service. Even if men did not see, the One who called them to service knew what was going on and dealt with them on those terms. Why would I think I can fool the One who created the heart and knows all its secret motives and pretences? 

I must therefore be ready to dispense that which I seek to demand from other people. My life must be a visible and audible expression of the grace of God, so that men know what to expect when they come in contact with me. You cannot give what you do not have, and you cannot demand from other people what what you have not yet defined and personalised. There is grace from God to birth in me that which will bless lives, but I must also place myself where the grace of God can find expression in and through me. That is how God is made known. May my life be such a vessel that the life of God can flow through. God's time of favour is here.