The Most Sublime Word: Duty
Richard A. Bradley
Luke 17:5-10
Luke 17:5-10
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, ''Increase our faith.'' 6 So the Lord said, ''If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? 8 But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'''
After the Civil War Robert E. Lee was asked what he felt was the most necessary character trait for patriots. He said that it was ''duty.'' In fact, He said that ''duty'' is the most sublime word in the English language. He actually said ''sublimest'' but that's not actually a word. ''Duty'' is defined by as ''something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation.'' The Greek word we translate as duty in verse 10 describes ''an obligation'' or ''a debt that is owed.''
This week we celebrated Veterans day. This is a day we set aside each year to express our thanks to all those who have served in our Armed Forces. Without a strong military our nation would not even be close to all that it is today or possess even a small part of the hope we have for the future. We are grateful to all those who have seen fit to do their duty for our nation.
Today's text has more to do with Christian duty than patriotic fervor. While salvation is free it does come with certain requirements once we've been saved. I'm afraid we don't talk about what God expects of us as much as we sh ...
Richard A. Bradley
Luke 17:5-10
Luke 17:5-10
5 And the apostles said to the Lord, ''Increase our faith.'' 6 So the Lord said, ''If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. 7 And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? 8 But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. 10 So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.'''
After the Civil War Robert E. Lee was asked what he felt was the most necessary character trait for patriots. He said that it was ''duty.'' In fact, He said that ''duty'' is the most sublime word in the English language. He actually said ''sublimest'' but that's not actually a word. ''Duty'' is defined by as ''something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation.'' The Greek word we translate as duty in verse 10 describes ''an obligation'' or ''a debt that is owed.''
This week we celebrated Veterans day. This is a day we set aside each year to express our thanks to all those who have served in our Armed Forces. Without a strong military our nation would not even be close to all that it is today or possess even a small part of the hope we have for the future. We are grateful to all those who have seen fit to do their duty for our nation.
Today's text has more to do with Christian duty than patriotic fervor. While salvation is free it does come with certain requirements once we've been saved. I'm afraid we don't talk about what God expects of us as much as we sh ...
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