“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." – Matthew 8:5-9
“The servant does not get any special thanks for doing what his master commanded. It is the same with you. When you have done everything you are told to do, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done the work we should do.’” – Luke 17:9-10
When I was a 12-year-old kid I served in an Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Italy. Okay, I was 21, but looking back, I looked and thought like a 12-year-old. The unit patch I wore with about 800 other paratroopers had the Lion of St. Mark on it, a symbol that represented the Veneto area of Italy where we were stationed, and oddly enough, but not widely publicized, it was a symbol of the Gospel of Mark. On the little book the winged lion’s paw is resting on is an open book that has one word on it, “PAX.” Although I doubt any of us made the historical or religious connection back then. We were pretty busy, and not always in the best way.
In order to be mission effective, there was a chain of command above us. This is what held us together. We knew who we were, what was asked of us, and by what authority our commanders operated. To many outside of that system, that could seem hard and demanding. As a young man, I found it to be freeing. I knew who I was, where I rested, and what to do.
But we had special words to describe those fellows who tried to earn extra favor with those above them. They were upending the entire system by creating a political system of debts and favors in order to receive special recognition and better treatment. Even as 12-year-olds, we knew a corrupting influence when we saw it.
As believers, Jesus asks us to understand that our standing in the Kingdom does not rely on a system of debts and favors. There is an amazing freedom in this. The world still fights for equity, but we don’t have to wonder if the Father loves or accepts us based on our ability to ply and persuade Him. We are His. Now we wait upon His voice.
At IMM some of our media endeavors are so audacious that we cannot hope to push them forward under our own strength. I’ve had to learn this lesson over and over again. However, once a project is completed we should feel accomplished, but we dare not offer endeavors up to Heaven in order to gain special recognition and favor. That is not ours to do, because we are secure in His Kingdom and we now share the desire to grow it. Our proper motivators are joyful devotion to the King and a love for the task ahead of us. Lift your heads and drive-on. There is much to be done, and some of it might even be fun.