The lives of some of those that you read about in the Scriptures, how much desire do you truly have to emulate them, how much of your prayer life revolves around “Lord, make me like …?”
Do you want to be as much of a servant of the Almighty as Moses was, do you desire to shed the same amount of tears as Jeremiah, travel as Paul did or devote every moment of your life as Samuel?
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
The Lord Jesus Christ was the ultimate servant, shedding tears as He walked through the entire land of promise, completely devoted to the will of God. Many pray to be made into the image of Him who saved us but fall short in these four areas.
“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41)
All of us who have been crucified with Christ want to be called as Abraham was, the friend of God, but we falter at being that devoted servant, shedding tears and anguish over the plight of the lost, seeking instead to go only when called, and hiding as Adam did in the hope that we will not be. We have lives to live, families to raise, responsibilities to maintain and goals to meet. And so, we give thanks to the Almighty for those He chose and is choosing for what we consider “special ministries,” but are content to be where we are at.
Many do not want their life interrupted by the Lord, it would be inconvenient to them, it would disrupt the pattern they have set for themselves, it would inhibit the plans they have for their lives they have set. His will is a burden they do not care to bear. Go ye into all the world has diminished into go to church every Sunday, hiding His word in our hearts is now memorizing a verse or two but rarely applying them. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105) But most keep that light dim so as not to be noticed by the world.
You do realize that the Almighty can see just as clearly those who sit in the pews at the back of the church as those who sit in the front, do you not?
I do not question those who say they serve, yet do so with little desire, and who live in the hope that the Lord will not call them, at least until perhaps they are very old and have fulfilled all their own worldly, personal ambitions. “Use me” is not something many who claim to know Christ as Savior say to Him.
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)
“Take my family from me, all my possessions, cause the world to hate me for your name’s sake, set me on the path to your glory, remove every desire of my own and replace them with yours. Take my life fully and completely and let me die with your name on my lips, forsaking all for you.”
I ask this question of you today, and I pray you will contemplate it at length, do you believe that you will be called the friend of God simply because you have believed on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul? What part of dying to self do you not understand, what part of you are you trying to hold on to?
What is keeping you from saying, and honestly meaning with your entire being, “use me?”
