When it pleased God…to reveal His Son in me… —Galatians 1:15-16
"The call of God is not a call to serve Him in any particular way. My contact with the nature of God will shape my understanding of His call and will help me realize what I truly desire to do for Him. […] Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion. But strictly speaking, there is no call to that. Service is what I bring to the relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of God. Service becomes a natural part of my life. God brings me into the proper relationship with Himself so that I can understand His call, and then I serve Him on my own out of a motivation of absolute love. Service to God is the deliberate love-gift of a nature that has heard the call of God. Service is an expression of my nature, and God’s call is an expression of His nature. […] The Son of God reveals Himself in me, and out of devotion to Him service becomes my everyday way of life.” - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest
When I typed this devotion it was 22 degrees in Pasadena, Texas, and pretty chilly in the room I was sitting in. I had pulled my red hooded Carhartt work jacket from the closet. Why am I telling you this? Because it has to do with the point of this devotion. About 17 years ago, I was standing in a parking lot of a church in Waveland - Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, doing pretty much what I am doing now. Not typing a devotion, but serving the people affected by a disaster, in the freezing cold, however without my red coat.
Oh, it was cold … colder than I thought it would be on the Gulf Coast. I had not dressed for the weather … because I didn’t bring a coat. But I wasn’t thinking about being cold, but about getting the volunteers to the work that they had come to do. That’s when a young man walked up to me. He asked me if I had a coat, I told him no. Then he did something that has been with me since that day, he took his coat off, a red Carhartt work coat and gave it to me. He said, “here you can have this one.” Well, I am a great giver … but like most givers, I struggle with receiving. But, this time, ….. I did accept the coat. I recognized the sacrifice he was making … I saw Jesus … I saw something holy that was taking place … an expression of sacrifice …
“No greater love has one man than this, then that he lay down his life for his friends.” - John 15:13
A sacrifice costs the one sacrificing something that is dear to them. In that moment, I was reminded of Matthew 22 and the parable of the sheep and the goats … “Lord when did we see you …?” It is a coat … not a sacrifice on the cross … but that is not the point … it’s the heart that made the sacrifice that makes the coat significant. I remember with a smile on my face - I suppose to diffuse the humbling feeling I was experiencing, I said, "You know the Bible says that if a man asks for your cloak give him your shirt also (Luke 6:29)" To which he replied with a smile - "No, I need my shirt!".
This coat hung in a closet for the four years we served in Haiti. But even then, each time I saw it there, my heart was rended (sp) and I was taken back to that parking lot. I was reminded of what is important in life. I am sure that the young man had no idea what the gesture would mean to me years later. And likewise my friend, you have no idea what your kindness toward others, your sacrifice from the heart will mean to them. That is not the motive for our doing and serving … our motive … our motivation … our reason … is the love of God that we bear in our hearts that has found a way to express itself and bring glory to the Father.
Allow God to reveal His Son through your life.
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone
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