Be All You Can Be
We need to be all that we can be for the Lord Jesus Christ. Phoebe is an example for us because she did not flaunt her position in the church. She taught us it is not the position we as women of Christ should be striving for. It is the service for the Lord Jesus Christ we are striving for.
Being all you can be is one of the slogans that were used by the US Army. Since we, as women of Christ, are in the Lord’s army then we also need to be all that we can be. It can be confusing being all that the Lord calls us to be. This is because the world tells us to be what it demands.
Many years ago I met a nurse’s aide who worked at a medium size hospital. The RN’s would call for her every time there was someone who needed a one on one. Late one night there was an older woman in great distress and became very upset over having a sponge bath. The nurse was having a terrible time explaining to this sick woman why she couldn’t have a shower. The nurse’s aide went in and in a gentle yet firm voice said “Now Mary, I know it hurts and is embarrassing to have a sponge bath but you have to have one and I am going to give it to you. There was not another peep coming from that room.
Let me tell you about this nurse’s aide, we will call Robin. She was in her 30’s, physically she was overweight, not very pretty, and mentally she was on the slow side. Spiritually she was the strongest, purest, most beautiful soul for the Lord. She knew she had the job that the Lord wanted her to have. She also knew that the Lord brought people to her to care for and she loves it. She realized she was great at her job and loved it and felt blessed to be where she was.
The world thinks her job is beneath her and she could be so much more if she went to college to become an RN or even a Doctor. She would have more money, prestige, and certainly more power by being more than a lowly nurse’s aide. Money, prestige, recognition, even power, although it very nice, does not bring happiness nor does it bring you closes to the Lord, it can even push you further away from Him. Jesus can use you wherever you are in your life.
Where are you in your life? Where do you want to be in your life? What are the talents that you have been given? Are you living according to these talents you have been given? Most important question is are you listening to the Lord or are you listening to world? All it takes to find the answer to these questions is finding a quiet place, a quiet time and a quiet spirit and have a heart to heart with the Lord.
Phebe is an example for us because she did not flaunt her position in the church. She was not a deaconess because it might give her power she had a position in the church because that is where the Lord used her. It is not the position we as women of Christ should be striving for. It is the service for the Lord Jesus Christ we are striving for. It is about Him not about us. Women of Christ should do whatever she is asked to do by Him. Sometimes that is easy and sometime it is the hardest thing we have ever had to do. It is not our will but His will that should guide us.
Ephesians 1:4-14 reminds us that we have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Jesus Christ has predestined us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself; this was according to the good pleasure of His will. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; we have in us all wisdom and prudence, we have been given the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself. This is so in the fullness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: We also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things after the counsel of His own will.
The Parable of Laborers in the Vineyard found in Matthew 20:1-16 is a great reminder that our Father God sent a certain amount of workers out in the world to do His work early in their lives. The LORD God predetermined a fair price of these workers. That price is forgiveness of sin and everlasting life. Other inactive people were instructed in the middle of their lives to go out into the world to be a worker for the LORD God. The agreed price was determined to be a fair price. Yet other idle people were instructed later in their lives to go out into the world as a worker for the LORD God being promised whatever was right they would receive as their wage. It is important to understand that it doesn’t matter how long an individual works for the LORD God, everyone will receive the same fair wage and that is the forgiveness of sins and the promise of an everlasting life. These wages will be paid in full at the end of the age, at the judgment, when those in Jesus Christ shall be raised, when the work is finished.
Cite Article Source
MLA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne “Be All You Can Be:.” Becker Bible Studies Library Jan 2015.< https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2133,>.
APA Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015, January) “Be All You Can Be:.” Becker Bible Studies Library. Retrieved from https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2133,.
Chicago Style Citation:
Holstein, Joanne (2015) “Be All You Can Be:.” Becker Bible Studies Library (January), https://guidedbiblestudies.com/?p=2133, (accessed).
