So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:10 KJV

If you work for a company that gives raises based upon performance reviews then you should be quite familiar with how merely doing what you're supposed to do affects your pay. Rewards for performance come when you go beyond expectations ... whatever that really means.

As a young man, I was taught that my place in heaven was assured but that my heavenly living conditions would be based upon my final review. I can tell you that such a burden gets heavier and heavier as you discover what is expected. Do you know what else I was told? That the more I knew, the more would be expected. I don't know why I wanted to learn more in view of a setup like that. But I did. I suppose my earlier zeal gave me a false sense of confidence in my abilities to go above and beyond, but it soon became obvious that in the face of ever-increasing expectations that I would reach a breaking point. It didn't take long for me to realize that all those sermons about being an unprofitable servant was talking about me. Fears like this drove me to grace.

Now I'm not going to deny the truth of what Jesus said about the unprofitable servant, for it is the very thing I learned in this world. I hope you caught the full impact of what I mean by having learned it in this world, for it is not what we have learned in Christ. Coming to the conclusion that we are unprofitable because we have only done our duty is the most that we can expect from living under the Law. But the good news is that we are not under Law, but under grace. And please notice that I did not say that we will be judged graciously. For we have been taken out of the domain of the one and put into the domain of the other. I hope the difference will shake you to your core, for it is as simple as the distinction between darkness and light, or between death and life!

Shovels of love and grace to you my friends!
Jim

ShovelAudio

Adam and I have put together another audio file for you. It is the last of the series on marriage. The title is The Joining of Two: Lust and Passion. You can reach the ShovelAudio page by clicking that link. Now if you'd rather just download the file so that you can listen to it on a portable device, you can right-click the following link and do that: Download Link