Duty, love, unselfish service to GOD, and the “Gethsemane point” are in view, today. (No BATTLE AXE appears.) The “Yahoo! Answers” writer using ID “Andrew” (Level 4 with 2,636 points, a member since January 09, 2011) posted the following:
Asked to be a godparent but don't want to be?
The baptism is for my niece and nephew . At the time i felt obliged to say yes, but now i realize i dont even want to go to the baptism let alone be a godparent. The baptism is this Sunday, i dont know what to do now. I am not even a religious person in fact i cant stand it ( no offence intended ) Most of my family are religious though. I dont think it be right either for me being none believer to be a godparent, and i think it be unfair on my niece and nephew.
THE GOLDEN ARROW: And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. (Luke 17: 5-10, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: What GOD Demands (05/10/2014); The Body of Moses (05/11/2014); The Obedience of Jesus? (04/15/2013); Why Would GOD Worry About Us? (04/16/2013); The Passion at Gethsemane (03/28/2013); Separated and Sealed? (03/29/2013)
“Andrew”, even reading and responding to questions here at “Yahoo! Answers” is a dangerous and difficult task that many only respond to willingly because they accept it as their duty from GOD. Here are a few points I hope you will find helpful that may make a positive difference for your life as a Christian:
(1.) When Jesus and his apostles had completed their last Passover meal together with the initiation of the Lord’s Supper and the ordinance of foot washing, the Savior became overwhelmed with the thought of his ministry on earth being ended by the cross. When they went to the place where they were to be encamped for the night, Jesus approached the Father in prayer to ask that his death be delayed. Jesus had reached and would have to endure an emotional, psychological, and spiritual agony that we now refer to as a “Gethsemane point.” Is that where you are?
(2.) Duty and service to GOD are not a matter of ones ability apart from GOD, ambition, experience, personal pleasure, self-promotion, skill, or talent. There are things a believer must do—like it, don’t like it—that absolutely must be carried out. While completing our sacred duty may provide special benefit to family, friends and loved ones, the simple tasks we are challenged to carry out often pertain to maintaining divine order for earth, heaven, and the entire universe as well as the continuum of eternity.
(3.) Born again, all believers must “grow up” again by meeting life challenges upon the earth. Believers are encouraged, instructed, and supplied to answer one another with love (we say, unselfish surrender), and respond to GOD with total commitment. Examples from Isaac quietly waiting upon an altar to be struck by his father Abraham to that of Jesus at Calvary demonstrate the maturity we are to acquire wherein we obey and discharge duty no matter the cost (we say, the sacrifice, the suffering).
There is far more to be said, correctly understood, and spiritually apprehended. (For example, (4.) Asked to be accountable, asked to be responsible, asked to be shown up by the many other people whom you account more worthy than yourself, asked to take the risk of being more than just a bystander, pride makes most of us hesitate. The “hero” in a crisis is a person who was committed to doing their best before the emergency, or need for special assistance appeared. Where believers refuse to participate or share in any given role of ministry, it always should be only because it would damage or interrupt their other ongoing commitments to GOD.) Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.
THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC
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