Where do your loyalties lie? As Christians, our loyalties should be with Christ. Paul writing to the church at Ephesus on two separate occasions provides us with sufficient reasons to reexamine our lives and our priorities. In Ephesians 2:8-10, the Holy Spirit speaking through the pen of Paul tells us that God saved us not because of what we did (i.e. good deeds, good thoughts; good intentions) because of what He wanted to accomplish through us.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Eph 2:8-10)
Our salvation was (is) a gift bestowed on us. We didn’t deserve it. We couldn’t earn it. We didn’t earn it. He chose to forgive and redeem us not because of any merit of our own. You might say, we were “saved to serve.” In fact, that’s exactly why, as believers, we were given the gift of eternal life. God wanted to employ the unworthy for His worthy service. He opened our eyes to the truth; we surrendered; we received eternal life. We received better than we deserve and our reasonable response is loyal service to Him who did for us what we could not and would not do for ourselves.
So, how are you doing? I mean what is the quality and quantity of your reasonable service? Writing on another occasion to the church (and pastor) at Ephesus, Paul, challenges them and us saying:
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the daily affairs of life so that he might please the one who enlisted him (2 Timothy 2:4).
Here Paul tells Timothy, the church at Ephesus, and you as well as me, to serve God loyally, single mindedly, and faithfully. The war time analogy is appropriate because as believers we are constantly at war with temptation, a hostile culture, and our own selfish tendencies. Soldiers on the battlefield have little time for distraction. With the enemy before them and bullets whizzing about them, they really cannot afford to take their eyes off of the front. Paul is writing to Timothy during a time of intense persecution under the Roman emperor Nero. We, at least for now, do not face such persecution. However, we do face great distraction. We do not face the adversities of the early church as it struggled for its very life. Nevertheless, we do struggle with complacency as we live life.
There are so many distractions. There are so many distractions in fact that quite often serving God becomes an extra-curricular activity---an afterthought. We pursue our careers, we take our kids to soccer games, music lessons, and the like. We watch football, go hunting, and generally want our families to have “what we didn’t have.” Church becomes the stuff of the “weekend warrior” and we are as out of spiritual shape as the middle aged man who plays touch-footfall on the weekend with his pals.
Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, gave His disciples (all His disciples for all time) three simple commands, a short list of their purposes): go make disciples (tell people about Me); baptizing them (those who are saved); teaching them to do all that I commanded you (teaching them the word of God by precept and example). This is the “Great Commission” found in Matthew 28:19-20. This is not the pastor’s job---this is everybody’s job. This is your calling as much as it is my calling. You were saved to serve. How are you doing? Are you loyally fulfilling the Great Commission? What’s getting in the way?
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the daily affairs of life so that he might please the one who enlisted him (2 Timothy 2:4).
I call your attention to the last verb in 2 Timothy 2:4---“enlisted (him).” This verb, “enlisted,” ties in nicely with Ephesians 2:8-10. A alternative translation would be “drafted (him).” You see, God drafted you into His service. He didn’t choose you for your abilities. And you certainly did not choose Him on your own. More than likely He chose you for your disabilities so that He could use the weak things of the world to glorify Himself and demonstrate His power, mercy, and grace. You have been drafted. You were saved to serve. You are to go and tell people about Christ, seeing them baptized when they are saved and then do your part to teach them all that Christ commanded. I’m reminded in verse 18 of Matthew 28 includes the statement “all authority has been given Me.” That’s pertinent because you and I have been drafted. Christ is our authority. We have our marching orders (i.e. the Great Commission). We have our purpose (saved to serve). The question is, “how are we doing?”
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the daily affairs of life so that he might please the one who enlisted him (2 Timothy 2:4).
Are there other priorities getting in the way of your life’s purpose? Stop a moment. Close your eyes and bring to mind all the matters that are at the forefront of your life and mind right now. Have you relegated Christ and serving Him to the end of that list? Whatever the first thought that popped into your mind was (car, career, kids, boyfriend, girlfriend, test, exam, spouse, etc…) is your god. Think about it. You’re reading an essay about God and your loyal service and you’re still thinking about something else? Think about this: “You shall have no other gods before me… you shall not bow down to them or worship them or serve them…” The first two commandments are about having priorities (or idols) in your life that take the place of God. What or whom are you worshipping?
Let me encourage you to inventory your priorities and jettison anything that is coming between you and Christ and or keeping you from serving Him faithfully. Think eternally, think biblically, and ask yourself, “where do my loyalties lie?”
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the daily affairs of life so that he might please the one who enlisted him (2 Timothy 2:4).
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