As we were on the Jr. High mission trip, one of the many cool things was that we had a full half hour of personal devotion time built into every day, right after breakfast (so we were awake) and before beginning work. Brian did a great job of giving the kids freedom in their devotions, yet specific instructions of how to do a good devotional time: ask God what he wants to teach you, read the Bible, pray, and journal about what you learned. It was a good refresher for me too!!
Each morning I also asked God, "What do you want to teach me today?" On Saturday, an unexpected answer came. The Lord brought to my mind all day long the parable Jesus tells in Luke 17:7-10. It's the story of a master who, after his servants come in from working in the fields all day, doesn't pamper them or make a fuss of all the hard work they've done, but expects them to also make dinner and clean up, since that's what servants do! The parable concludes with the words, "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.'"
Often I am trapped by pride in having done what is my duty. I am proud of my service to Jesus, proud of my trips, when I should hang my head and say I am an unworthy servant, I have only done my duty. I make serving Jesus to be something I do part-time, like on service trips, or in the summer, or just while I'm at work, instead of something I need to be doing 100% of the time, since I am Jesus' servant, and servants serve all the time, no vacation!
At the end of the trip, we all had a reflection time and then a sharing time about things we'd learned. We had all learned really deep and important things: many of the kids had their eyes opened to the inequities of our city, the joy of serving Jesus, the importance of spending time with God, and the importance of being God's service. I had my eyes opened to how I need to get back on track with serving God, not just on mission trips or when I've planned to do so, but 100% of the time, and with a willing heart!
