Prophet's Blog

Luke 12:42-48 KJV And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? (43) Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. (44) Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. (45) But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; (46) The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. (47) And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. (48) But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

When my eldest son and I fly stand-by, one of his favorite parts of the journey is the ride (usually when returning home) on the employee bus. There is always some kind of drama on the bus since it is usually over-crowded and dodging drivers at the airport as well as stopping for irate folks banging and chasing it down for a ride to the employee parking lot after a hard day of work. As a result, the humor associated with many of the things that we witness it usually one of our highlights as we conclude a trip.

Since I'm an employee of US Airways who works at this airport, I obviously take the bus frequently, but I always marvel at the thought that the bus is a microcosm of the kingdom of God. Although its purpose is professional in nature, this bus has representatives of many nations on it, from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, and it also regularly has passengers from one extreme of pay (international captains) to another (cleaners and clerks). However, in order to gain access to the employee's free parking lot, we are all required to take the same bus, and this process is similar to all nations of the earth gaining access to salvation via one gateway:

John 14:5-6 KJV Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? (6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Based upon this parallel, another similarity is in how people are supposed to regard each other. As an example of this, the Lord brought to my recollection the overcrowded bus that I got on after completing my workday at 10:30 pm on the night following Thanksgiving, more commonly known as Black Friday. Within minutes of getting on the bus, I saw a great illustration of what our Lord taught in regard to humility. As we learned from our text scripture, Jesus declares that "to whom much is given, much is required." However, do we really put this principle into action when opportunities arise? As my co-worker and I boarded the crowded bus and I found a seat, I was grateful, and I was even more appreciative when the First Captain got up and permitted my co-worker to take his seat. This was a nice gesture, but flight attendants and pilots work together and have a mutual respect and usually help one another out.

As we got to the next stop and the bus became more crowded, more rampers and cleaners hopped on. Instead of keeping his seat, the next captain immediately jumped up and granted one of the female employees his seat. Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr. and especially our Lord would have been pleased at this gesture. This very seasoned pilot never looked at her color or what would consider a lesser position within the airline, he just jumped up immediately because that's what a gentleman does for a lady regardless of race or social status. As I said earlier, I would liken the passengers of this bus to our journey to the Kingdom of Heaven. We all have jobs to do, we are all created differently, but the Lord says that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female" in His kingdom:

Galatians 3:28 KJV There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

In other words, there are no gender, racial, socioeconomic or other criteria in heaven which enable someone to be better respected or favored than anyone else. Jesus considers us all equals who are afforded the same rights and privileges before God. If this is the case, why are we (as the Lord's disciples) so disobedient to this concept? It grieves my heart to see those who are elevated by God permitting it to go to their heads so that they begin to seek accolades instead of continuing to remain humble servants before God's people. Instead of wanting to be the Lord's servants, when we become elevated in our hearts and minds, people want to be served.

Matthew 20:25-28 KJV But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. (26) But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; (27) And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

James 4:6 KJV But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

As the Lord states here, if you desire to be great, you need to be a servant to others. He also states that He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. If there an area of resistance today in your heart, place it under the microscope of these verses? Are you walking in pride or humility? Do you seek to serve or look for opportunities to be noticed and elevated in the eyes of men? These scriptures should be the litmus test for every deed that we perform as well as our motives, both in secret or out in the open.

The bible says that we will face opposition, but it is only to be as a result of our righteousness and not in areas of disobedience where we are permitting our fleshly traits to overrule our desire to walk in obedience to God. If we are dealing with opposition or disrespect, it is the result of reaping the consequences of what we have sown in?

Saints, let us run this race the way the Master intended it to be completed, with a spirit of servitude and humility, because He will reward now and in eternity according to what He and He alone sees in the underlying motives and attitudes behind our actions. He alone is the author and finisher of our faith (as one of my girlfriends always says, "He's running things"), so let the final chapter of our lives indicate that we have matured, taken on His character and lives proven lives of servitude to God and mankind!

-- Pamela Fox