December 11, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Ye serve the Lord Christ." — Colossians 3:24 · KJV

To what choice order of officials was this word spoken? To kings, who proudly boast a divine right? Ah, no! Too often they serve themselves or Satan, and forget the God whose sufferance lets them wear their mimic majesty for their little hour. Does the apostle, then, speak to lofty church dignitaries, with their grand and reverend titles? No, indeed; Paul knew nothing of such honors of men's inventing. Not even to pastors and teachers, nor to the wealthy and esteemed among believers, was this word spoken, but to servants — yes, and to slaves. Among the toiling multitudes — the journeymen, the day laborers, the domestic servants, the drudges of the kitchen — the apostle found, as we find still, some of the Lord's chosen; and to them he says, "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ." This saying ennobles the weary routine of earthly employments, and sheds a halo around the most humble occupations. To wash feet may be servile, but to wash His feet is royal work; to unloose a shoe latchet is poor employment, but to unloose the great Master's shoe is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God. Then "divine service" is not a thing of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness to the Lord, and every place and thing as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden lampstand. Teach me, my God and King, in all things You to see, and what I do in anything, to do it as for You. All may of You partake; nothing can be so mean but that, with this tincture, "for Your sake," it will not grow bright and clean. A servant, with this clause, makes drudgery divine: who sweeps a room, as for Your laws, makes that and the action fine.