"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" Ephesians 2:8-9
I'm an over achiever. Most of you may already know this; those of you who don't, probably haven't been reading this blog for even a week ;). I'm told I get it from my Dad; I'd argue that I'm worse (at least Daddy has brains to go with it. Somehow my brilliant ideas always seem to backfire, and I create a mess!). I'm told, usually, that this characteristic can be a blessing to others... I am also told, at times, when it is three o'clock in the morning and I may be working on dishes, that it can seem like a curse to the weary, hahaha! I have also been told that it started young; "She has rearranged my kitchen again!... I can't find anything!". I hear this was a frequent remark Daddy heard from Mommy when I was four. Emmi is my buddy, and it's starting to show. I'll include this snippet of trivia that I wrote a while ago to prove it:
We
(Emmi and I) went to tell the others good night before going to bed (since we are trying to sell the house, we had to move a bed downstairs, so Emmi and I ended up moving down, too, for the time being.). Emmi headed down
the stairs, while I was still talking to Tori. When I finally got
downstairs myself, I found Emmi in our room with a pile of freshly washed cloth
diapers. She looked up and informed me "I'll fold the washcloths. You
fold the diapers."
So what was the point of those facts? To prove that I really am an over achiever. Because that is why this verse made me think... "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." Romans 9:11.
What is zeal?
Zeal: Ardor, as for a cause, fervent. (Webster's Student Dictionary)
Do not be slothful in zeal; zeal for what? To see the windows sparkle? The clothes folded? That to-do list shrinking? Or something bigger?
Something like living for the Lord? Blessing others in his name? Honoring him with every breath?
Zeal for the Lord: To live for the cause of his name, fervent in our passion to serve him.
It is easy for me to understand "zeal". And yet, do I really understand zeal for the Lord? When I push aside the urge to go pray and ask the Lord for strength to get through something with the fact that "there is too much to do", neglect to pause and consider whether this is really important to the Lord, what am I living in zeal for? My own agenda, or the glory of God?
Yes, it is easy for me to understand zeal in my own definition. But true zeal for the Lord will set aside my own ideals when they conflict with the work that God has for me, when they get in the way of lessons he is trying to teach me, when they replace my zeal for him. I should serve him with more zeal than I finish my to do list. Without being slothful. Without pushing it aside. Without thinking it too hard.
On the flip side, though... "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" Ephesians 2:8-9. Not even a zeal to obey the teachings of Christ will save us. Christ's sacrifice, his gift, his calling us to faith in him, is all that will save us. Not even if we, by our own imperfect "goodness", serve him with all zeal, will we have hope without a gift of faith being granted to us.
So that no man may boast. Not in their own goodness. Not in their own work. Not in their own achievements. But in the grace of Jesus Christ. Grace that I pray that I may learn to love more, to serve with true faith and zeal in that grace.
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