The Most Important Question

“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.” (Ac 9:6 AV)

That is the question that every being created by the hand of God should be asking.  Regardless of our relationship to our Creator, this is the most valid and important of all inquisitions.  The context here is what we wish to consider this day.  Who it was that asked and why he asked it is the most compelling truth that should be on our minds and hearts today.  It was Paul who asked the question and it was right after he understood who Jesus Christ was.  In the previous verse, Paul acknowledges Jesus as LORD.  The very first question that comes out of Paul’s mouth is a question of purpose and obedience.  Paul understands that salvation intimates purpose.  Like our physical birth serves a purpose in the plan of God, so too does our spiritual birth.  We are not saved for the sole purpose of experiencing God.  Unlike the contemporary notion of worship, we are introduced to a relationship with the LORD for the purpose of His plan.  He saved us to know Him and love Him.  We love Him by keeping His commandments.  However, there is more to the Christian life than worship and obedience.  There is purpose.

As a child, our father employed us to scour the refuge of others for recyclables.  We would gather paper, glass, and metal.  We would then take it to a facility that recycled these items and sell them for a profit.  But, in an amongst our scouring, we also found discarded treasures.  We might find a record player, or bicycle, or pogo stick.  Perhaps an office chair, a musical instrument, or toy.  One article in particular was a re-curve bow.  My brother found it and brought it home.  He restored it and hung it in his room.  Knowing that I was taking up hunting, he gave it to me.  I restrung it, reconditioned it, and attacked some hardware to it.  It worked wonders for many years.  This old bow was discarded by someone who saw no purpose for it anymore.  Like the world, the flesh, and the devil the owner threw it at the curb as we are thrown at the curb by our masters.  Along come the garbage collector.  He is looking for items to restore.  Not that they might hang on a wall.  Rather, that they might be restored to their original design and intent.  There is a purpose to fixing it up.  Not to sit on a shelf.  Rather, to serve the purposes of the one who restored it.

By nature, we Americans are consumers.  We use things.  When we are done, or they no longer serve a pleasure, they are discarded.  This is exactly how we treat our salvation.  We look at it as something we are entitled to enjoy.  We do not see our salvation and restoration as a means to serve a purpose for the One who restored us.  We are so self-centered we think this restoration was all about us.  We think it was given that we might have the best possible life without any reciprocal service to the One who restored us.  Paul’s first question was one of submissive servitude with service as its foundation.  In other words, Jesus saved us.  Now what is it He wants us to do?