Daily Reading for Sunday, Feb. 10: Serving

“1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
til he establishes justice on earth.”
Isaiah 42:1-4a NIV

This passage speaks specifically of Jesus, the fulfillment of the prophesy of the Messiah. We see many attributes of Jesus in these passages, and we could discuss many things about this particular passage. But notice in verse 1, where the Lord says “my chosen one in whom I delight?” I love that verse because of another verse, this time found in Romans 8: 15b-17, which states that we are God’s children and joint heirs with Christ. Yes, we share in his sufferings, but we also share in his glory. And, to me, there is no higher glory than the delight of the Father. We have been chosen, as heirs of Christ, to carry on the work of the Word of God. We have been chosen to serve, just as Christ was chosen to serve. We serve in differing manners, but we serve nevertheless. And God, when He sees our service, takes great delight in us. In fact, He even gives us gifts! Notice what verse 1 says: “I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.” That is what our ministry of reconciliation is accomplishing! We serve the world, those who are perishing, by the gifting and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, so that the justice of Christ may be theirs. If Jesus, who was foremost in all creation, can serve in such a way; then certainly, we, who say we are called by His name, who lay claim to His promises, and who are rightly called joint-heirs with Christ, can surely serve in such a way as well. We serve because we love God; our reward is that He delights in us. We serve to administer the justice of God, which is the blood of Jesus; our reward is that many come to the saving grace of the knowledge Jesus Christ. This is our heartbeat and the very foundation of our passion—however it is expressed. And this is what we were chosen for.