Sep 22, 2019
164 We Have Only Done
Our Duty A Guided Christian Meditation on Luke 17:7-10
I’m Chaplain Jared
and I work as a hospice chaplain and an ICU chaplain, my purpose in
making this podcast is to help you find more peace in your life and
to be more open for your heart to be changed by the Spirit of
God. By using centuries old form of Christian Meditation
named Lectio Divina:
Outline: Relaxation,
Reading, Meditation, Prayer, Contemplation and
Visualization.
Get into a place
where you can sit comfortably and uninterrupted for about 20
minutes.You should hopefully not be driving or anything tensing or
unrelaxing. If you feel comfortable to do so, I invite you to
close your eyes.
Guided Relaxation /
Guided Meditation:
Breathe and direct
your thoughts to contacting God. Let your stomach be a balloon
inflate, deflate.
Bible verses for Meditation:
Luke 17
NIV
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the
sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field,
‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?
8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and
wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and
drink’?
9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to
do?
10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do,
should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our
duty.’”
ESV
7 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep
say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and
recline at table’?
8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress
properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you
will eat and drink’?
9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?
10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded,
say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our
duty.’”
Meditation on Scripture:
Many times in this
podcast I have talked about the amazing love that God has for us.
For you. At times many people struggle with accepting that love and
feeling it deeply. For that reason it is valuable to reflect on
that. It is important that we are able to believe God when he tells
us that. Equally valuable is that we realize that our position is
one of grace. The love God extends to us is due to His decision to
love us. His decision to do what is not required or necessary. We
find ourselves in the middle. We realize that God’s forgiveness and
the offer to allow us to live with Him comes from His heart while
at the same time that in His eyes we are worth it.
It can be tempting
when we hear outpourings of His love so often that we may lose the
feeling of newness with it. At times the wonder that fills our
hearts when we first hear of it may fade or worse we may think that
it is a nice thing for others but not for us. In the deepest way
this scripture speaks to those people who struggle with this idea.
If God loves us because we are really so perfectly lovable then
God’s grace doesn’t amount to much. If God only loves perfect
people or people who are good enough, why is the central message of
Jesus that of forgiveness and grace. Why does Paul teach over and
over of the need for forgiveness?
God’s grace can allow
us to make peace with our inner nature. We are worse than servants
in the grand cosmos. These physical bodies were created from the
dust of the earth and will go back to it as it says in Genesis.
This doesn’t mean that we don’t ever do anything that God asks.
Jesus uses this metaphor because the servant is asked to do many
things and is expected to do them. In this way we are God’s
servants. Yet when we follow, he blesses us. The things we do never
truly earn the payment we receive from God. As we reflect on this I
pray that your heart is filled with gratitude instead of shame or
guilt. The point of scriptures like this is not to make us feel bad
but to help us recognize the love of God.
Meditation of
Prayer:
Pray as directed by
the Spirit.
Dedicate these moments to the patient waiting, when you feel ready
ask God for understanding you desire from Him.
Meditation of God and
His Glory / Hesychasm:
I invite you to sit
in silence feeling being patient for your own faults and
trials.
Summarize what insights you have gained during this meditation and
meditate and visualize positive change in your life:
This is a listener funded podcast at
patreon.com/christianmeditationpodcast
Updates:
Final Question: In
what ways are you a servant of God.
Final Thought: In an
indirect way God’s statement that we are His servants represents a
commission from God to serve. It is our duty. We can own that
identity. We are servants of God yet we struggle to do what he asks
us to do and we are unworthy if we expect to earn what we have not
earned. The marvel is that God’s love, grace, and forgiveness are
extended to us who trust Jesus and follow Him. You are a child of
God and if you follow the path Jesus has laid out for us then we
will truly be blessed in spirit. God is good and faithful even when
we aren’t. Trust in His goodness and in the end we will have
perfect awareness and understanding. Perhaps it won’t be until we
are back at His side in heaven but I like to think that God will
bless us with an understanding.
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