Servant, Called and Set Apart….

Paul writing to the Romans simply opens his letter like this…

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God”

Paul considered himself a servant first…which is interesting. Humility is the where it has to start for all of us. We humble ourselves and acknowledge we are all sinners in need of grace. From this position you further humble yourself to become a servant. On of the biggest problems facing our churches today is a lack of humility. The church today has catered to the consumer mentality and as a result we have “consumer church goers’. These are the people who show up at your church service wanting to know what you can offer them. From the point the conversation starts, it’s all about them. There is not an ounce of ‘Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus’ in their hearts.

The other thing is Paul considered himself called. I believe we are all called by Christ. It’s a call to ‘follow me’. He calls for different task, but he does call. Not everyone’s call is the same job, but we are all called to one body…the church. Each one of us has a unique mission that we where created to fulfill. God has a plan for each and every person on earth. It’s important to remember we didn’t call God…but that Jesus called us. We answer the call, but we don’t place the call. God places the call on our lives early; your response to him is something he inspired inside your heart….from the beginning. Why…

To be “set apart for the gospel”. The gospel is—the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the good news for all people. We were once lost in our sin with now way out…but through Christ…we die to the old way of life, we bury it forever more…and we rise to walk in the new life. He changes us from the inside out. Christ is awesome! I cannot help but get excited. He changes lives forever…he drives out the darkness in our lives and gives us a new light to guide our steps.

All of this starts with becoming a servant. So does your life story open the same ways as Paul’s…

Does it say, “Steve, a servant of Christ Jesus…”

(insert name), a servant of Christ Jesus, called by him and set apart for the Gospel of God….Does your life speak this verse to the world around you? Let is start today and watch what happens around you!

-ps