Excellence in Our Service Unto God
Defining Excellence:
“the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.”
We serve the King and the Creator of all Space and Time. He designed and created the functioning laws of matter, gravity, magnetism, and light. He designed and created the highly complex and intricately interwoven human body, both male and female. He breathed into us His breath of eternal life, and gave to us the ability and desire to procreate and fill His creation with human beings that are created in both His image (as Creator-God) and in our image (as Procreator-Parents).
When did it become acceptable to serve God with sloppiness of heart or mind? When did it become permissible to give Him offerings or sacrifices that are not from the best that we can offer? When did He say that His grace covers our cheapened valuation of Him as our King, and that we shouldn’t give it any thought or consideration?
Well, it hasn’t become acceptable. We are to give God the very best that our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls can produce. He is our God, our King, our Savior; He is our Heavenly Father, our Heavenly Brother, our Royal Friend.
God spoke to Malachi (within the context of the Old Testament sacrificial system) about the excellence in service, sacrifice, and offerings that a great King has due to Him. This applies to us today just as much as we consider its truth and application in our New Testament context:
“… ‘When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?’ says the Lord.
‘Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord.
For I am a great king,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and My name is to be feared among the nations.’”
( Malachi 1:13–14 )
Let us give to our God and King the best and greatest of all our excellencies in all things. Let’s ask the Lord today to please show us where we have served Him with excellence, and to show us where we are falling short.
He is not interested in our legalistic and rules-based fulfillment of excellence; He longs for, and deeply desires, that we would offer Him excellence simply because we recognize Him as our King, and our heart’s desire is to honor Him as our Great King, the King and Creator of all Space and Time.
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