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 One
thing that characterized the ministry of Jesus was His abiding
sense of responsibility. Nowhere is that disposition better
exemplified than in His remarkable statement of Jn. 9:4:
"We must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is
day; the night cometh, when no man can work". At this time
the night of the cross was about six months away. So little
time! So much work to be done! As Jesus saw it, the issue was
clear: "WE MUST WORK WHILE WE CAN!" — and His
followers must see it that way too.
The
must concept is sorely missing today. Somewhere down the
line we seem to have lost something of our sense of obligation.
Back before the current and popular attitudes of "so
what?" and "who cares?” responsibility was a thing
to be taken seriously by most. Today, however, it is not unusual
to see weighty obligations being lightly treated.
Take
the casual attitude with which many enter into marriage, for
example. Instead of the determination that says, "it must
work!” or "we'll make it work!” divorce is treated as a
practical option from the very beginning. With such thinking, it
is not surprising to see so many exercising the
"option". Even in marriages that continue in conflict,
there is often a reluctance for one or both to face up to their
God-given "musts". Until wives learn the must-nature
of subjection and all that it involves; until husbands learn the
must-nature of love and all that it involves, the marriage can
never be successful according to the divine standard (Eph.
5:22-23).
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The
must concept is likewise needful in the serious business of
rearing children for heaven. Many will readily acknowledge what
they "should" or "ought" to do in this
regard, but how many really see it as an unqualified MUST?
Obedience and respect must be required, discipline must
be administered, and a Godly example must be lived before
children if their bringing-up is to be "in the Lord",
Eph. 6:1-4. We may rationalize and excuse ourselves for doing
less but the results will surely be reflected where it hurts the
most — in the spiritual welfare of our children.
When
Jesus says, "We must work", he surely includes all
those who make serious claim to being his followers. As Jesus
had God-given work to do, so do we. And it is no less important
for us to do the will of God in our sphere than it was for Him
in His. We must quit the practice of a religion that is
controlled and manipulated by every circumstance and situation
that happens along. Something is drastically wrong in the life
of a Christian who subordinates doing God's work to practically
everything else. It needs to be reversed; it needs the must
concept that subordinates all else to serving God! That's the
way it was with the early Christians. After being warned,
"not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus".
Peter and John replied, "We cannot but speak the things
which we saw and heard" (Acts 4:18-20). Later, they said,
"We MUST obey God rather than men" (5:29). May God
help us to develop such a concept in serving Him. Not,
"MUST I?", but "I MUST!" Dan S. Shipley
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