Heavenly Commission

David Livingstone said:

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honour, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?

That’s a profound thought, isn’t it? Sometimes, we serve God as if our sacrifice can somehow be held to the same light as His. Juanita Bynum once said something like this: “even if God were to stop blessing us today, it would take us 1000 years for our praise to catch up to Him.”

How can our sacrifice ever compare to His? That He would sacrifice His most precious, so that we wouldn’t get what we deserve, but instead, so that we get what we don’t deserve. That’s His grace! And yet, when asked to serve Him, it’s as if God still owes us something. So we say we sacrifice for His sake, and the sake of His kingdom.

Think about this: God doesn’t need our sacrifice! He can do everything by Himself. If we don’t do it, someone else will rise up. Remember what Mordecai said to Esther in Esther 4:14:

“… For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

If we don’t serve, someone else will arise to take our place. But what if we have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

We must see our service to the King as a privilege. Yes, it does involve personal sacrifice on our part to some extent, but God didn’t need us, and yet, he called us to such a great honour. Will we accept the call?