Servants of the God of Heaven and Earth

 We all need to have a good grip on our identity. Some of us are defined by our family. Others are defined by their profession. However, neither of those things get to the core of who we are. We need to get to that core, so that we know the motivation for how we live. The best way to define our true identity is by expressing who were are in relation to our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

When the exiles returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, there was a conflict with the people of the land, and they stopped their work for a while. However, the people resumed the building anyway, so they asked them why they were not waiting for an answer from the king. (Ezra 5:11) The people told them that they were the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and they were rebuilding the temple that was built many years before by a great king of Israel. They were determined and successful because they understood their role in this way.

So if someone asked you today to tell them who your are, what would you say? Would you give them any more than a name? We should all be able to give others the definition of who we are that shows why we do what we do. If we can't do that, we don't really have a clear purpose in life. We have no real direction. As believers, we need to get our identity from what God says about us and what He has called us to do.

Therefore, I think it is very healthy to see ourselves as servants of the God of heaven and earth. Jesus is Lord, and we are His servants. We are here to build His kingdom which He founded by His death on the cross. We are building upon the work of all those believers who have gone before us, and we are determined to do His work in the power of the Spirit. When we have that identity, we are going to live a life that is pleasing to God.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezra 6-8.