Duty

"Obligation"

We hate that word in the church these days.

Sure, perhaps church systems or leaders have put an unhealthy emphasis on certain facets of "responsibility" or haven't modeled servant leadership in healthy ways to help us embrace this posture.

But as a culture we love being "right".

We're obsessed with "fairness".

We need to be "rewarded."

We're quick to sue and take even more than what's "rightfully ours".

In a word, our generation is "entitled".

But let me remind us both today that the Kingdom of God we live in is a different reality. It's an alternate narrative to the one we swim in. And though it can be very difficult to breathe pure air in the cultural smog, we must to reclaim this perspective.

Jesus wasn't afraid to teach that, in the Kingdom, we have a "duty" to serve the Master, whether we get rewarded or not. 

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

Luke 17:7-10 | NIV

Let me be frank—the ones who find this scripture offensive are those that have made themselves their own masters.

When we truly understand our position as subjects of the Most High King, there is no other posture but "dutiful, unworthy servants."

We don't dare expect to sit and eat with the King. We don't assume there will be a reward for us for simply doing the basics of what our role requires. We serve because to be a servant in itself is enough—because a servant is filled by simply being in the Master's house.

Our generation desperately needs to reclaim this attitude. 

And when we do, we'll find a King that behaves quite the opposite from our earthly kings. 

See, when we truly lower ourselves to the role of submissive servants, we finally see Jesus eye to eye. 

In the wonderful, unexpected, upside down Kingdom, the King DOES serve US if He finds us ready—

It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.

Luke 12:37 | NIV

He will wait on US!

In our un-entitled service to the King, dutifully and humbly carrying out our mission, it's there we find the humble King, dressed Himself to serve us the meal we were preparing for Him. 

There may be no greater picture of the radical grace of God. 

And it begins with duty.