Hanson: the nature of service

Friday, December 30, 2016
Meditation:
    Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
    —1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In the last analysis, the service the Christian does is not his, but Christ’s. Therefore he must not feel too keenly the burden of responsibility, because at the end of the day all he can say is, “We are unprofitable servants.” This knowledge, far from inhibiting action, actually releases the Christian from that appalling feeling of responsibility that has driven so many high-minded humanists to despair, even to suicide... Work done conscientiously by the Christian is his share in Christ’s service; but it is Christ’s service, and therefore the Christian need neither be proud because it has succeeded or overwhelmed because it has failed. The service of Christ is supremely expressed in the apparent failure of the Cross.
    ... Anthony T. Hanson (1916-1991), The Church of the Servant, London: SCM Press, 1962, p. 88-89 (see the book)
    See also 1 Cor. 1:22-29; Rom. 14:4-8; Gal. 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:10; 1 Pet. 4:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant in me a heart for Christian service, to Your glory. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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