Eza 5:11 And this was their reply to us:' We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. (ESV)
There is both a confidence and an humility in saying, "We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth." They could easily have said, "We are the representatives of ..." or, "We are the people of..."or even, "We are the blessed and blessing of ..." All of those statements are true, but they said, "We are the servants of..." On the other hand, they are not the servants of a territorial god, a god among gods, or even "our god." They are the servants of "the God of heaven and earth."
I think that it is significant that when Tattenai the governor writes his letter to King Darius he says that they are building the house of "the great God." God's people don't need to be arrogant in order to impress people with the greatness of their God. They don't need to try and impress people. Being a servant of the God of heaven and earth is significant enough. We don't need to try and convince people that we are great in order to convince them that our God is great.
Too often we worry about our reputation thinking that by protecting our reputation we are protecting God's. That rarely, if ever, works. People see through it like looking through a window of old wavy glass. It makes us look bad and it makes the God we serve look bad. My testimony is not, "Look how great and righteous and holier-than-thou God made me." It is, "I once was lost but now am found." Our testimony is that we do not deserve God's grace but he poured it out upon us anyway. Our testimony is that in spite of our weaknesses, failures and insecurities God accepts us and uses us. We are servants of the God of heaven and earth.
Father, thank you for your grace and mercy. Today may I be less concerned about what people think of me and more concerned with the task to which you have called me and how that reflects on your reputation. May my life be one of service to you that honors you despite my failures.
By His grace,
Rick Weinert
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