Relationship with God - Task From God
You and I were created to have a relationship and to worship God. But we were also created to fulfill a certain role or task in the Kingdom of God.
We see this in the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus taught his disciples:
“Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored.” Relationship.
But he went on to teach them:
“May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.” Task. (Matthew 6:9-10, NLT)
We see the balance between relationship and task in Jesus final commands in the Last Supper:
"Abide in Me, and I in you.” Relationship. (John 15:4, NASB)
“…he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” Task. (John 15:5, NASB)
Jesus demonstrated this principle in His earthly ministry.
“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. Relationship. (Luke 6:12, NASB)
“And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.” Task. (Luke 6:13, NASB)
We see this combination of relationship and task throughout the New Testament. The Apostle Paul writes of our salvation:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Relationship. (Eph. 2:8-9, NASB)
But in the very next verse he points out that as a result of this relationship, God has work for us to do to fulfill His Kingdom purposes.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” Task. (Eph. 2:10, NASB)
As we have our time of prayer each day, let us set our eyes on walking first in our relationship with the Lord. And as a result of this abiding in the vine, we can expect to bear much fruit in the task He has called us to.
Do you want to have peace with God?
