Tuesday, July 31: 1Timothy 3 - The nobility of service.

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task (1).

As I began reading the pastoral letters (1&2 Timothy and Titus), I decided that whenever a ‘trustworthy saying’ came up I would use it for my meditation that day.  So I find myself meditating on the verse above.

Funny how words fire off thoughts… my initial title for today was ‘a noble task’ and then the phrase, ‘the nobility of service’ sparked, so I changed it. As I begin to write, the word ‘nobility’ rattles in my thoughts. Nobility conjures up thoughts of kings and queens and days of the court.

Yesterday I watched the movie ‘The King’s Speech’. The second born, who became George VI, had a sense about him, an understanding that the throne was bigger and more important than the particular person. Even though the king had no real power, the king held an incredibly important place in British society and psyche. George VI understood the nobility of the office!

There is a ‘nobility’, in that same sense of the word, for those who serve as overseers, elders, in the church. The position is more important than the person, or at least that is how it should be. Overseeing God’s people, being a conduit for the Lord among His people has a sacredness to its calling. Setting one’s heart on that form of service is noble but as the description that continues shows it is not for the faint of faith.

What are you setting your hearts on? Is it something noble? Think about it.

Lord, may my desires, may the things I set my heart upon please You. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.