2011: Serve Christ with my whole strength

It is to my shame upon my reflection of this passing year (2010) of how little I served Christ with my whole strength, to love him with all of my might and to delight in Him more consistently than I do other things. It is to my shame because of who Christ is and of the abundance of overflow He has poured upon my life; He is the King of kings and the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega, the firstborn over all creation, the suffering servant and the restorer of all things back to his Father. He is the Word made flesh, the only begotten Son, the God-man, the Lion of Judah, the champion of Justice, the prince of peace. He is to judge the world, He was the One who saved the world by His death and resurrection.  He is the exact representation of His Father, the darling of Heaven, the creator and by Him all things are held together. He is the supreme, the king of glory, the one whom we despised and rejected, who was nailed to a tree; He is altogether lovely, altogether worthy and should I not serve Him with all of my strength?

This year I aim to join the apostle in his service for He was not ashamed to declare with fervency and joy of heart that he was a slave of Christ, yea a slave of Christ. This to Paul was a joyful duty, his heart delighted at being a slave of Christ because He is the best of masters. Should I be a slave to myself, to pride, to anger, to lust, to family, to banter, to drink, to charity, to merriment, to study, to fanciful love, to pornography, to football, to entertainment, to church, to people, to the devil and sin. Should I be a slave to these things ? Neigh, for when each is compared to Christ they are as nothing, they are mere dust, mere trifles and dissatisfaction . Should I give my strength to these things? for it is foolish to do so. Therefore I bid myself this year to be a slave of Christ, to enlist myself whole heartedly in His service and I know that when He bids me an errand it is for my good and my mouth will be wide open with joy to do my service.

An error that is at large constantly found with me which leads to the neglect of serving Christ with my whole strength is that I easily forget those words of Paul which reads, ‘whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord.. It is the Lord Christ that you are serving’.  What are the things that I do? The answer is clear, that is anything that I do, anything that I engage with. I go to university, I play football, I go out and come in, I cook and clean, I watch tv, I read, I meet people and etc.. Paul makes no error by separating the sacred from the secular but he binds it altogether, that in whatever you do, because you belong to Jesus, do it for Him. Serve him with all of your strength and might. Do not only consider yourself to have such vigorous energy when evangelising or praying but also when studying and playing, do it for Christ.

I am a slave of Jesus and His reign is universal, His kingdom knows no end and His justice is everlasting. He is the best of masters and no other masters is worthy to bind my time. But I have seen foolish things in my heart and in many others. We serve the lesser masters with more fervency than we do Christ, we violently give ourselves to entertainment, to play, to study, to whatever our leisure may be but the same affection is not to be found for Christ. This is a disease and it is wise for one to examine themselves and see if this is true with them. Should not Christ have all of our hearts and affections? should not our Joy in him be so large and full of glory? but those who serve him are sometimes found to be dull, they fear that Christ is in the way of their freedom but realise not that in serving Christ therein is the true freedom. I want you to be wise to this disease because the devil portrays Christ likewise. But Christ is not cruel, He is the pleasure of His father and the fountain of water. He dances and goes with his sheep, He smiles in the open and intercedes for His servants in the secret. He took the cross and despised the shame, he loved his sheep to death and empowered them when He rose again. Christ is the sweetest master of them all and this year I will aim to serve Him with all of my strength, delighting abundantly in Him and I bid you to do the same. If you know Christ, tarry no longer in your half hearted service, but like good soldiers, pack your bags and join me on the pilgrim road where everything done will be to His glory.

Although I am a slave yet I am a Son therefore I am also an heir with Christ. I do pray that I serve the Lord with all of my strength and not only this year but for the rest of my fading life with each being transformed from one glory to another.

K.oni