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“I will spend myself to the last ebb for you; you may give me praise or give me blame, it will make no difference…When we realize that Jesus Christ has served us to the end of our meanness, our selfishness, and sin, nothing that we meet with from others can exhaust our determination to serve men for His sake.” -Oswald Chambers
Aaron read this devotion from “My Utmost for His Highest” this morning, and oh the sting of the realization that servant hood is so completely counter to my nature.
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And yet I know that my greatest job on earth is to press into my children, like a mold, the image of Christ, and that image, in a word, is SERVANT.
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That’s what He came for–to serve, to be spent, and to lay down His life. And that is what He asks from us. That is why the world hates Him so; because in our flesh, this is detestable. Being “abased” as Paul said he was willing to do, is not en vogue.
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Because we live in a culture that SCREAMS the antithesis of Jesus’s teachings–in a culture that says, “Look out for you“, raising children to be servants takes all the more intensity of effort.
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We must fight against our own tendencies to pamper and coddle them, and keep the goal fixed in place–raising up real warriors for Christ means raising servants who are willing to empty themselves for others, without any expectations–the greatest irony of human nature.
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So mothers, does your job feel menial–the scrubbing of toilets, the wiping of noses, the changing of diapers? If you will only perform these tasks with humility, tenderness and contentment, your life has become the profoundest of classrooms, and your children will become the wisest of students.
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12 comments
Thank you, Kelly! I can’t tell you how much I needed to hear this battle cry today!!
Thank you… I also needed this reminder.
Thank you Kelly. Like Kim, I also needed that reminder today.
Blessings to you~
Not trying to be antagonistic, but is teaching our children to be servants truly our greatest job? I thought it was to love, know, and experience God…..and simutaneously allowing him inside to our true inner self, thus, him knowing US.
I am not really trying to begin a battle; i know it is off topic.i suppose I have a deep-thinking mind today, about other things along this line….
AM,
“…my greatest job on earth is to press into my children, like a mold, the image of Christ, and that image, in a word, is SERVANT.”
Teaching our children to love the Lord and others is our greatest job–but I believe that the only way to love God and know who He is is to become like Him.
And in a word, He was a servant. So I don’t think the two are any different from each other–that is, loving Him and desiring/learning to be like Him.
I don’t think “allowing Him inside to our true inner self” is something we have to do, or even CAN do. He knows us as completely as He can, and has known us since before we were born. It’s not something we allow–it’s already done.
Good, deep thoughts…
Kelly,
Ok, gotcha. My “allowing him to know our true selves” thing was more about us growing closer by allowing and agreeing to remove walls of denial…becoming more vulnerable and transparent to Him. But I do agree He knows all. I was moreso saying relationships are two-way streets….and how far we let him in is our daily choice.
thanks for answering.
Kelly, I just tagged you on my blog for a fun meme! Please do it so we can all get a peek into your home! 🙂
Daja,
Oh this does look fun–I’m on it!
Do you know the scriptural references Chambers is using for this. I have found the “I know how to be abased” in Philippians, but where is the “I will spend myself to the last ebb for you; you may give me praise or give me blame, it will make no difference.” I read this last night and went searching. I found your blog. This was speaking to me in such a way. I had just had a day in which I felt I had accomplished nothing. I was asking myself what am I working for. Then I read this. I went back to work today in a new light, how can I serve my people? I’m not ashamed. You can praise me, and you can blame me, it makes no difference. I am printing this out and posting it over my desk as a reminder.
Jason,
I am so grateful you took the time to share this…I praise God that His infinite timing works in ways we don’t understand and brings words to people when they need them.
I am assuming that was Chambers’ own quote…I wasn’t under the impression from the text that he was quoting anyone, only paraphrasing what he felt Paul’s life was about.
By the way, this devotion (and many like them) have impacted us so deeply, after we read this yesterday, we are thinking of naming our baby “Chambers” if it’s a boy 😉
Kelly, your words are inspiring,your readers am sure are blessed. you remind me of quotes from an inspired pen. She wrote : Aim Higher Than the World’s Standard.–The mother should not be governed by the world’s opinion, nor labor to reach its standard. She should decide for herself what is the great end and aim of life and then bend all her efforts to attain that end. She may, for want of
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time, neglect many things about her house, with no serious evil results; but she cannot with impunity neglect the proper discipline of her children. Their defective characters will publish her unfaithfulness. The evils which she permits to pass uncorrected, the coarse, rough manners, the disrespect and disobedience, the habits of idleness and inattention, will reflect dishonor upon her and embitter her life. Mothers, the destiny of your children rests to a great extent in your hands. If you fail in duty, you may place them in Satan’s ranks, and make them his agents to ruin other souls. Or your faithful discipline and godly example may lead them to Christ, and they in turn will influence others, and thus many souls may be saved through your instrumentality.
God’s Blessing and protection on you and your family Kelly
Thanks for the reply. I had that thought too, but he puts it in quotes. Forever a mystery though.
My mother gave me my first copy of My Utmost when I graduated high school. I read it a little then, but as I grow older it means so much more. There’s nothing like it. It’s timeless age old wisdom.
Ps. I love your blog.