But not in a gazillion different directions.
No, excellence requires concentration on a single purpose. It does not allow for distraction or wasted resources. Time, money, energy are funneled toward a solitary goal.
An aspiring concert violinist does not go out and also train for a marathon, hoping he will land the coveted opportunity to perform with a symphony and win the race. That would be absurd. He has to choose: running or performing. To aim for two massive goals would be akin to burning the candle at both ends, and he would end up doing much less than his best in both areas.
An artist cannot serve two masters.
Neither can the Christian.
As I read through the first chapter of Galatians yesterday, verse ten caught my attention. “If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
When God created humanity, He gave us a volition – the ability to freely choose who we will serve and love. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, sin came into the world and predisposed us to choose to serve ourselves.
If we have accepted Christ as our Saviour, His conditions for following Him are simple: deny yourself, take up His cross, and follow (Luke 9:23).
Following, loving, and serving Christ means not following, loving, and serving men – including yourself. If you are seeking to please the world, then you are not serving Christ.
“Choose you this day who you will serve.” That was the ultimatum given to the Israelites, and it challenges us today, three thousand years later. God’s desires have not changed. He still wants individuals who are willing to humble themselves and be wholly abandoned to His perfect will. He wants followers who are in the world, but not of the world.
In Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3, Paul addresses those who were, in that day, slaves to Roman masters. He writes, “Be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ” (Ephesians 6:5).
Singleness of heart. In Ephesians 6:6, it’s “doing the will of God from the heart.” In Colossians 3:22, “singleness of heart, fearing God.”
Paul is talking about wholehearted service. Our modern American position may be far removed from Paul's original audience, but the same principle applies to serving our heavenly Master. It means setting aside our own preferences and desires aside in order to fulfill our Master's. It involves relinquishing control of our lives to Him and operating on His timetable. Paul is pleading us for us serve from the inside out. He's encouraging the kind of service that is the inevitable outpouring of a humble, surrendered heart.
Kierkegaard once said, “Purity of heart is to will one thing.”
I have always thought it was a beautiful quote. Now, more than ever, I am realizing what he actually means.
It’s difficult to “will one thing.” There are so many things around me, competing for my attention, my love, my efforts. The inner battle wages, self against Christ.
It’s also not simply a one-time decision, but a moment-by-moment renunciation of self. And He will give the strength and grace to make the right choice. That is why I love my Saviour so much. He doesn’t just give a command and then leave us dangling, weak and incompetent. His calling is always His enabling.
Are you willing to serve one master? The Master? Regardless of the cost?
“You will never
regret having thrown all to the winds
in order to follow
your Master and Lord. Nothing will
seem too much to
have done or suffered, when, in the end,
we see Him and the
marks of His wounds;
nothing will ever
seem enough.”
– Amy Carmichael, Candles in the Dark
Christ had a single purpose on earth: to do His Father’s
will. He asks nothing less of us. We cannot serve both the world and Christ. We
cannot sit on the fence, half-in. The sheer focus of some athletes and
musicians on their goal – men and women who know not Christ – is astonishing. Their
example puts many Christians to shame. What is even more incredible is that
these unsaved people are giving their all to gain earthly treasures – things that
will pass away. Service for Christ has eternal ramifications. It is never
wasted. And, after all Christ has done for us, how can we not offer ourselves
up to Him as living sacrifices for His honor and glory?
“Our Lord demands
all.
I see nothing less
in His words about taking up the cross.
It is all or
nothing.”
– Amy Carmichael
Are you all in?
