THE DELIVERY MAN

“My teaching is not mine but His who sent Me.  The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory but the one who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true.  In him there is no falsehood.”  John 7:16,18

Our son, Ryan, lives four hours away in another city.  If some friends of ours were going to travel through his home town and made the offer to stop and see him, Ron and I would be asking them to take him a bag of homemade goodies as well as deliver a message or two from home.  We would tell them what to say and trust that their delivery would be identical to the way they heard it from us.  They would not be visiting Ryan on their own authority, with their own message, but would come to him on behalf of us, his parents.  The message on their lips is our message even though they are the ones delivering it.  

Now, let’s pretend that the message they are sent to convey is how to solve the logistics of an accounting problem he’s having with his bank.  Ron and I investigate his problem and conceive a solution.  We take the time to walk our friends through the detailed solution so that they are effective communicators.  When Ryan hears the news, he is ecstatic because it is the answer he has been waiting for.  Does he say to our friends, “You’re brilliant!  You’ve saved my life.”  No, he knows that they brought the answer from home.  They would not be friends if they soaked in glory that was not theirs.

Is there any place for pride in the servant of God?  If any child of God possesses a gift, it was God’s gift to them.  If they are gifted teachers and deliver life-saving messages, they are delivery men, sent from home with a message carved out by their Father.  To praise them for their wisdom and treat them like they are God is mis-placed glory.

Praise and appreciation certainly have their place but only in their proper context.  Ryan could embrace our friends and thank them for being willing to stop and tell them the good news.  That would be appropriate.

To whom is glory due if God showers success on His servants?  To God.  He is the author of it and He should be glorified.  To steal His glory is a serious offense that carries consequences.  To ascribe Him glory is a privilege for which we were created.  When we give up entitlement to be the center of attention and decide to make God the center of our world, everything falls into place internally.  This is one of the major pathways to peace.

I carry Your Words on my tongue and as people are changed by them, I glorify You.  You told me what to say, how to say it, and I am the messenger.  Thank you for the privilege of representing You.  Amen