10 April, 2011

gratis pro deo

gratis pro deo..."free and for God"

As Americans, we have a culturally conditioned mindset toward making money.  Outside of our basic needs for money; food, clothing, shelter, etc., we have been taught to define success by it.  And even if in the secular environment there is a shift toward the "greater good" such as philanthropic endeavors, corporate "community service," and humanitarian aid, there is still a "payment" to be expected on some level.  Large corporations give large amounts of money to aid causes but for the payment of recognition and creating a social "environment" to grow the company's base.  Employers encourage employees to contribute in the community and offer incentives for them to do so, each incentive very often being the motivation for service at all.  And even our churches (and this is the saddest part) "serve" not out of a desire of the heart but because it's hounded from the pulpit, required for church membership, or, in the end, out of guilt.  And before I go further, let me add a disclaimer: I am glad that these things are getting done: both on the corporate level and individually...whether wrongly motivated or right.  In the end, needs must be met.  So whether the needs are being met by multi-billion dollar corporations who do it to get a commercial on TV or a white-collar dad helping in the church nursery because he needed his wife to stop badgering him at home...the poor get fed and the babies get watched.  However, if you (we) belong to Christ, our Christ-likeness is reflected in the heart motive toward our neighbor.

The Latin phrase gratis pro deo means "free and for God."  Let's look at the two halves: "free" and "for God."

The most important part of this phrase (first introduced to me by Os Guinness in his book The Call) is of course pro deo..."for God."  But let's look at gratis first.  The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Colossians, "Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men.  Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ" (vv. 23-24).  The context of the Colossian letter places the instruction Paul is giving to slaves with regard to their masters.  It is an admonition to take what they must do (slaves are ordered, not given options) and instead serve the Lord Christ.  Their "payment" ,as such, is stated here to be "the inheritance" promised to all those who belong to Christ.  It is not to be understood as another heavenly reward for good deeds; for not talking back to their masters or performing well.  Paul's intention here is to say,"your reward is already guaranteed by virtue of you being in Christ...so serve the Lord Christ as your daily worship!"  In my own search for my "calling," I have heard over and over almost those exact words: "Chris! Listen to me...your reward, your inheritance, your riches are all sitting in a vault waiting for that last day.  Now, serve me without another mention of 'what can I gain from this.'"  Like a father both disciplining and encouraging a son, He has been teaching me the gratis of my call.  Sometimes we do receive earthly recognition and sometimes there is earthly motivation offered for services rendered, we cannot control that.  What we do have more control over is our heart's intent as we serve.  "Do not look out for your own personal interests, but instead toward the interests of others.  Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus...." (Phil. 2:4-5 ff). 

And now, pro deo.  What will it take for you and me to understand that we have been "bought" and are now "slaves of righteousness?"  The down payment for our inheritance (Eph.1), the promise of our inheritance (Eph. 3:6, Gal. 3:29) and that it will surely be ours is the Holy Spirit.  Given to us freely, the Holy Spirit is the power of Christ living through us unto the world.  "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is [a] new creation (just recently learned the connection to the OT language of the "new creation", thus how it reads); the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . . therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us." (2 Cor. 5:17-20)  I could go on and on with this imagery, but I'll just say this:  God sent His King into a foreign country and set up an embassy.  The King reconciled the world to Himself by way of the cross, then rose again and ascended to His Father's side.  In His place He placed us.  We are ambassadors, working out of "The Embassy for Reconciliation," beseeching all the world to be reconciled to God.  With that in mind we can say, "whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  Our lives have been made new, and by the power of the Spirit we are to serve others toward the world's reconciliation to God, and ALL OF IT unto His glory...pro deo.

I am not good at serving others and when I am I can sometimes get frustrated by not being recognized like I think I ought.  I (we) must keep reminding myself that if my redemption is not a good enough reason to in humility serve my neighbor gratis pro deo, then there is an issue with my heart, and I must repent. 

Jesus died gratis pro deo....and honestly, that's all that really needs to be said about it.

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