Who am I? [Part 2]

Tychicus will tell you all about my activities.  He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. — Colossians 4:7, ESV


A FAITHFUL MINISTER
When Jesus called me and I surrendered my life to him, I became a son of God.  I became a member of God's family.  However, with that call to surrender to Jesus and become part of God's family, I have also received a call to be part of God's mission.  I have a specific purpose on this planet, which honestly gets me so jacked up.  I'm so pumped up about getting to do what I do.  However, the key to that call is Jesus.  I am called to be a faithful minister.  The key idea behind being faithful is this: I am called to be faithful to Jesus. It's his opinion that I am truly concerned about.  It's his view of me that actually should consume my mind.

It is easy to fall into the trap of being faithful according to every other person's expectations of me.  The only problem with that is this: I can't be truly faithful to Jesus if I'm trying to be faithful to everyone around me.  If I start with faithfulness toward others, I will ultimately fail someone else and fail Jesus.  However, if I start with faithfulness to Christ, I will ultimately fail someone else (because I will not be meeting their expectations perfectly) but I will be applauded by Jesus.  And that is the key for me.

I long to hear Jesus say to me one day, "Well done."  I LONG for that.  The price that I must be willing to pay in order to hear those words is to be willing to take the ridicule and critiques of others who don't like not having control of me.  It will cost me possessions and comfort.  It will cost me safety and complacency.  I will not be able to just sit and wait for heaven.  But think about how much different things would be if every Christian truly desired to live their lives in such a way to hear Jesus say, "Well done."  We'd be less focused on us and more on Jesus, resulting in being more focused on others.  My wife would be loved better.  My kids would be cared for better.  The broken, needy, oppressed, poor, etc... would be helped better.  The world would look so different if we really strived to be faithful to Jesus above all else.

Jesus - help me be faithful to you above all.