Yesterday I heard a message on a portion of 1 Corinthians 15:58. The verse is:
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
I had to memorize it years ago and fortunately it has always stuck with me. The man spoke on always abounding in the work of the Lord. And one of the other references he used was Ephesians 2:10:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
He defined workmanship as poiēma , a thing that is made by a creator, a masterpiece. It's where we get our word poem. As he spoke, I really began to think upon these 2 verses. Now I may be going way offline here, but it started to click with me.
I am a masterpiece of the Lord's, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He has prepared in advance for me to do. AND I am to be abounding in the work of the Lord. The work of the Lord is me. I am trying to work my way through this whole idea. What if the thing that I am to concentrate on is me?
Now I know this sounds totally self-centered, but hear me out. I am to concentrate on me and my relationship with the Lord. I NEED to be completely all about Him and that has to be my focus. When I am focused on Him and Who He is, He can lead me to do those good works that He has prepared for me to do. I can be the servant He wants me to be. My heart will be sensitive to those who need prayer or need help or whatever. My heart will be ready to share the Gospel with the clerk at the store or the girl who is my waitress at the restaurant.
The first part of 1 Cor 15:58 talks about being steadfast and immovable. I can only be those things if I am standing on Christ as my foundation. But it has to go deeper. I really have to let Him be the Vine and me the branch - no life without Him. He has to be my All in All.
So it's not only focusing on Him, but letting Him have His way in me, letting Him change me, mold me. I have to let Him continue to work on this poem, this piece of artwork, this piece of clay.
Last night the other speaker spoke on "the Joy that was set before Him" and how we are that joy. By letting God have His way in me, I give Him great joy.
Oh, Father, change me and mold me into what You want me to be so that I might bring You more and more joy.
