I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians . . . —Romans 1:14

Paul was overwhelmed with the sense of his indebtedness to Jesus Christ, and he spent his life to express it. The greatest inspiration in Paul’s life was his view of Jesus Christ as his spiritual creditor. Do I feel that same sense of indebtedness to Christ regarding every unsaved soul? As a saint, my life’s spiritual honor and duty is to fulfill my debt to Christ in relation to these lost souls. Every tiny bit of my life that has value I owe to the redemption of Jesus Christ. Am I doing anything to enable Him to bring His redemption into evident reality in the lives of others? I will only be able to do this as the Spirit of God works into me this sense of indebtedness.

I am not a superior person among other people— I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus. Paul said, “. . . you are not your own . . . you were bought at a price . . .” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Paul sold himself to Jesus Christ and he said, in effect, “I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His.” That is the characteristic of a Christian’s life once this level of spiritual honor and duty becomes real. Quit praying about yourself and spend your life for the sake of others as the bondservant of Jesus. That is the true meaning of being broken bread and poured-out wine in real life.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord, This selection leaves me with two feelings … I am not as devoted as Paul (or Mother Theresa or Jim Elliot or other heroes of our faith) … And at the same time I see that this motivation to be broken bread and poured out wine is in me to some extent. How do I increase it? How do I become more like Paul or Mother Theresa? Or is comparison a bad idea?

Comparison for the sake of ranking is a bad idea. Looking at other lives for inspiration, that’s a good thing. But the best is just to connect with me and follow me. I will lead you into your best. It will be customized for you. You will not become Mother Theresa or Jim Elliot. It’s not my plan for you. But you can still be the best Kingdom Servant and Warrior that you can be. It won’t happen by check lists or religious calisthenics. The only thing you need to do is tighten up your connection with me. Learn to hear my voice and see what Father wants and then just live out of that.

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Journal for Today-JDV

Lord, I am not all that certain that we should feel “indebted” and allow the sense of indebtedness to become a motivating factor for our service and commitment to others. Trying to repay Jesus for His sacrifice seems like a task without end, and the wrong emotion.  Trying to do good things or touch others so that I can try and repay Jesus seems to me to devalue the sacrifice of Jesus. What if I simply get connected to Jesus and allow Him to live through me? What if love is the motivating factor instead of a sense of obligation?

And God says…”If you reached all the non believers in the world out of obligation it would not have the same value for you as reaching out to one out of love. You could do all things for others, however, if you did not do them out of love, they would have no value at all.  All things work for good for those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. The church has done a good job of leveraging obligation, guilt and responsibility to generate the “right” behavior and for “sin management”. But this is simply one more human attempt to codify the relationship I want with you, and it will keep you in bondage. Clearly I want you to reach out to others, but out of love not obligation and responsibility.  Seek first the kingdom of God, which is Jesus and everything else you need will be added. Acknowledge the Lord in all your ways, and do not rely on your own understanding and I will make your paths straight. Anything done apart from love and faith is not worthy of the Jesus that works within you. And you find the faith and love by connecting with Jesus, not by following some sense of obligation or indebtedness. When you find that you do not possess the faith and love essential for reaching others, simply trust Me to provide them to you through Jesus.  I know you do believe, but let Me help you in your unbelief.”

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