"...for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you..." (1 Peter 1:9-12)
For anyone who believes in eternity, one of the main goals of life, if not the main goal, is the salvation of one's soul. The above passage sheds so much light on not only the depth of salvation but also the depth of service. Jesus, the Savior of the world, has only been known by mankind as the Messiah (or Christ) for the past 2000 years or so. Prior to that, God's plan of Messianic salvation was a mystery. Yet it was a mystery longed to be understood by all those who sought God, as we read from the scripture in Peter. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this when talking about these ancient men of faith, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40).
In the younger generation of American society it's easy to feel a sense of entitlement. We, as Americans, are blessed beyond what we understand. We're blessed with riches only the poor can truly appreciate, we're blessed with freedoms that those confined within harsher systems around the world envy, we're blessed with citizenship many others have worked hard to get, and we're blessed with a tremendous opportunity to seek truth while other countries hinder their citizens rights. I use the word "blessed" because these things are unearned by most of us. Yet it's so easy to lord it over those who weren't privileged with the same things. We pass judgment on illegal aliens as if we have the slightest understanding of what kind of lives they're fleeing from. It's too easy to look down upon people we don't understand. Only in Christ is there a true respect for the graces received in life. We ought to praise God that there were men and women over the centuries willing to commit their lives to the work of God, so that we could have a fuller understanding of salvation in Jesus. Praise God that the Godly people of old "were not serving themselves but you". Jesus said it this way, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor" (John 4:38).
True wisdom is reflected in selfless servitude. Jesus was sure to teach his disciples this counter-cultural truth both in his life and teaching, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:42-45).
I distinctly remember a brother in Christ commending me for my strong faith last year, reminding me that I'm blessed because I've had generations of people praying for me to become the Christ-like man that God had made me to be. That was a great reminder for me of how much has been done for me and passed down through generations of good seeds planted. The next time we're tempted to flaunt our freedoms and blessings as if earned, let us remember the number of people that have poured into our lives from years ago. When we come to a genuine gratefulness of that, we will have the wisdom to pour into the lives of future generations by serving others as selflessly as we can in the now.
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