By Wang Yan, China
Ever since we were baptized and returned to the Lord, we have often heard our pastors and elders say, “The apostle Paul said, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing’ (2 Timothy 4:7–8). As long as we forsake everything, work, suffer and expend for the Lord, and endure to the end, when the Lord returns, we will gain the crown of glory and be lifted up into the kingdom of heaven.”
In the past few years, we have pursued as our pastors and elders told us, and believed that by laboring, working, suffering, and expending for the Lord, we will gain crowns and blessings from the Lord. As we accumulate ever greater merits through work, we think that we are ever more qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven, so every one of us vigorously expends for the Lord, to the point that we feel any degree of suffering is worth it. But have we ever reflected on whether doing things in this manner is in accord with the Lord’s will, and whether it has a basis in the Lord’s word? Did the Lord Jesus praise pursuit in this manner?
In the Bible, the Lord gives the parable of the master and the servant: “But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say to him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say to him, Make ready with which I may sup, and gird yourself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward you shall eat and drink? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise you, when you 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 17:7–10). The Lord Jesus told us this parable to say: The servant serves the master, and whatever he does for the master is his duty. It is a matter of his role. The servant is unqualified to seek things from the master, and should not use a basis for seeking more rewards from his master. The Lord Jesus used this metaphor to explain to us the identity and status of the Creator, the place we should take and the reason we should have as created beings before the Creator. We are created beings, the breath of life was given to us by God, and all the things we enjoy every day come from God. Therefore, it is only natural that we believe in God, worship God, and work and expend for God. We should not make any demands of God, nor should we ask for rewards. Instead, we should recognize our status as the servant in the parable and fulfill the duties we should fulfill. Yet we always think that because we sacrifice and expend for the Lord, the Lord should reward us and bring us into the kingdom of heaven. Isn’t this asking the Lord for a crown and making a deal with God? What problem do such expressions demonstrate?
God’s words say, “In people’s life experiences, they often think to themselves, I’ve given up my family and career for God, and what has He given me? I must add it up, and confirm it—have I received any blessings recently? I’ve given a lot during this time, I’ve run and run, and have suffered much—has God given me any promises in return? Has He remembered my good deeds? What will my end be? Can I receive God’s blessings? … Every person constantly, and often makes such calculations within their heart, and they make demands of God which bear their motivations, and ambitions, and deals. Which is to say, in his heart man is constantly putting God to test, constantly devising plans about God, and constantly arguing the case for his end with God, and trying to extract a statement from God, seeing whether or not God can give him what he wants. At the same time as pursuing God, man doesn’t treat God like God. He has always tried to make deals with God, ceaselessly making demands of Him, and even pressing Him at every step, trying to take a mile after being given an inch. At the same time as trying to make deals with God, man also argues with Him, and there are even people who, when trials befall them or they find themselves in certain situations, often become weak, passive and slack in their work, and full of complaints about God. From when he first began to believe in God, man has considered God to be a cornucopia, a Swiss Army knife, and he has considered himself to be God’s greatest creditor, as if trying to get blessings and promises from God were his inherent right and obligation, while God’s responsibility were to protect and care for man and provide for him. Such is the basic understanding of ‘belief in God’ of all those who believe in God, and their deepest understanding of the concept of belief in God” (“God’s Work, God’s Disposition, and God Himself II”). “God is forever supreme and ever honorable, while man is forever base, forever worthless. This is because God is forever making sacrifices and devoting Himself to mankind; man, however, forever takes and strives only for himself. God is forever taking pains for mankind’s survival, yet man never contributes anything for the sake of the light or for righteousness. Even if man makes an effort for a time, it is so weak that it cannot withstand a single blow, for the effort of man is always for his own sake and not for others. Man is always selfish, while God is forever selfless” (“It Is Very Important to Understand God’s Disposition”).
We believe in God and follow God, yet we never consider how to believe in accordance with God’s will, nor do we ever reflect on whether our views on belief in God are correct. Instead, we only work and expend for God to exchange for rewards and a good destination. When we see that we believe in God to gain blessings and make deals with God, we realize we are too selfish and despicable! Consider that God is the Lord of creation, the supreme Master above all things, while we are just motes of dust on the earth. God granted us the breath of life, and it is God who has selflessly supplied and nourished our survival to the present. All that we do for God is our duty, and however God treats us is proper. Even if we expend and work for God and God does not reward us or provide a good destination, as created beings, we should abide by our own position and obey God’s orchestrations, and we should not make any demands or seek to gain anything from God, nor should we make any complaints against God. This is the conscience and reason we should have as created beings, and the standard by which we should stand. Just as when a parent is ill, the children take care of the parents, or when the parents are old, the children care for them in their last days, these things are considered proper and right, and should not be done to obtain the property of the parents. Yet despite this, after we forsake everything and suffer, work, expend, pay a price, and bear hardship for the Lord, we feel that we have worked hard and earned our qualification to ask God for rewards, even to seek to be crowned with glory and rule alongside the Lord. Isn’t the fact that we have these extravagant desires and unreasonable demands simply a manifestation of our arrogance, selfishness, and lack of conscience and reason? It is because we do not regard ourselves as created beings, do not see ourselves as motes of dust, do not keep to our own place, and do not treat God as the Lord of creation that we dare to argue with God, discuss qualifications with God, and ask for crowns from God.
In the Bible it is recorded that Salome, the mother of John and Jacob, believed that she and her two sons all followed the Lord Jesus, forsook everything for the Lord, and had borne suffering, so she demanded of the Lord Jesus, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand, and the other on the left, in your kingdom” (Matthew 20:21). But the Lord Jesus did not grant Salome’s desire, and told her, “You know not what you ask. … You shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not my to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father” (Matthew 20:22–23). The Lord Jesus clearly told Salome that it is only proper that people work, suffer, forsake, and expend for God, that these are mankind’s duties and responsibilities, but that whether people finally gain God’s rewards and blessings is up to God, it is God’s decision. As people we should not go beyond our position to make demands of God or attempt to use our sacrifices and expending as capital to demand conditions of God, because to do so is an expression of arrogance, self-importance, and irrationality. The Canaanite woman recorded in the Bible is the opposite of Salome. When she asked the Lord to heal her daughter, the Lord Jesus did not answer her, but told her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs” (Matthew 15:26). The Canaanite woman did not develop notions because the Lord Jesus had called her a dog, but instead determined in her heart that no matter how the Lord Jesus treated her, the Lord Jesus is God and Christ. She was able to abide by her own position and hold reverence for the Lord Jesus, saying, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:27). The Lord Jesus saw the Canaanite woman’s faith, and even more so saw that she was especially sensible, and He said, “O woman, great is your faith: be it to you even as you will” (Matthew 15:28). Also there was Peter, disciple of the Lord Jesus, who when the Lord Jesus called him, forsook everything to follow the Lord. During the time he followed the Lord, he focused on contemplating the Lord’s thoughts, demands, and practiced according to the Lord’s teachings. After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Peter accepted the Lord’s commission to preach and work everywhere, shepherd the church, and support his brothers and sisters. During this period, Peter was arrested and persecuted by the ruling powers. He suffered much under the cruel persecution of the Jewish leader, yet never made any unreasonable demands of the Lord, and did not ask the Lord to give him a crown of glory or great blessings. It was his duty as a created being to pursue love of the Lord, satisfy the Lord, and give his all for the Lord. In the end, Peter was willing to be crucified upside down for the Lord, he produced testimony of obedience unto death and the utmost love for God, and he was perfected by God. From this, we can see that God praises and perfects those people with hearts of reverence for Him, who can stand in the position of a created being to follow and worship God, and who love and satisfy God. We can also see that God loathes those who make unreasonable demands of Him out of their arrogant disposition, and those who seek rewards and blessings from God after a bit of forsaking and expending.
Therefore, no matter how long we believe in God and follow God, regardless of age, regardless of how much we work and expend for the Lord, regardless of how much we suffer or what we sacrifice, we should be clear on the fact that God is eternally our Lord, we are always servants, we are created beings, and we should abide by our position and not make unreasonable demands of God. If we can follow Peter’s example and spend our lives loving and satisfying God, abiding by our position as created beings and expending wholeheartedly for God, and seeking no gain, conditions, or rewards from God, we will receive God’s blessings and praise, and become people who delight God.
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