Duty
is a strong word. It suggests both constancy and constraints brought to life.
Our affections may be stable and strong but are vulnerable to both distraction
and deviance. Duty, however, calls us back to a line to walk along. It is a
significant ingredient in bringing order to life. Duty directs and defines us
in the way that we relate to family, friends and colleagues; and shapes our
interaction with those among whom we are called to serve.
The
life of Jesus Christ, witnessed to in the Gospel accounts, is a life defined by
duty. A duty to fulfil His calling, to bring the fullness of God’s life to
mankind, to usher into Creation the presence and knowledge of God. We see this
in Him, as an adolescent, sensing the need to be about His Father’s business (Luke 2.49); and we see it in Jesus as
an adult, self-consciously embracing the knowledge that He is sent by God (Luke 4.43). Focally, we hear it
expressed in the words of Jesus, when He affirms that He undertakes nothing of
Himself, doing only what He sees Father doing (John 5.19), only what Father has taught (John 8.28). It is this sense of duty, to fulfil the purpose for
which He was sent, that punctuates and defines Jesus’ life.
Duty
requires a relationship, through which developing commitment arises. The
relationship that defines Jesus Christ, more than any other, is that which He
has with God His Father. From the beginnings of His ministry, as witnessed to
at His baptism (Mark 1.9-12), His
relationship with Father is punctuated by Father’s personal affirmation of His
Son; and the endowment of power for effective ministry, through the coming of
the Holy Spirit to be upon Him. Likewise, Jesus embarking on a path, that leads
to Jerusalem and His crucifixion, was punctuated by Father’s affirmation and
declaration of Jesus’ unique relationship to God (Mark 9.7).
There
is a need, within a culture where personal freedom and self-determination is
applauded, to affirm that duty is not a dirty or disparaging word, to be
discounted by us. Rather, it reminds us that what is to direct and define us,
both in our humanity and in our faith, is that we live our lives under the
command of Father. In this sense, there is no place for ‘free will’ in the
Christian life. To become a child of God is to come under the command of God.
It is to find delight in seeking out and doing our Father’s will.
But
what is the content, the nature of this duty? The answer lies in our purposeful
participation in the life, ministry and victory of Jesus Christ. Our duty is to
seek Father’s pleasure, doing the things that Jesus did. As with Jesus, we will
not do all these things simultaneously; but under the Holy Spirit’s anointing
and enabling, we will have revealed to us what it is that was Father wants and
expects us to undertake.
This
realisation, when grasped and embraced not only at a personal but also at a
communal level, transforms the dynamics of congregational life. We gather
together as Christians, not only to praise and honour God in worship, being
taught from the Scriptures and discovering truths from them: we also gather in
worship to pray, discuss and seek to discern what it is that God is directing
us towards, in terms of mission and ministry. We discern together how to use
our time, talents and money. Here is the key to our Baptist way. We are under
the command and owe allegiance to none but God alone, looking to discern the
pleasure of our Heavenly Father. We listen to the preacher, learn from the
teacher and weight the words of the wise; but our duty is to discern together
and obey the will and the command of our Father, in accordance with the mission
and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ.
An
awareness of duty and obedience will affect and reshape our congregational
life, bringing us to own no commander but Jesus Christ and commit to obeying
His voice. In this manner, our relationship to our heavenly Father will
powerfully impact our personal lives. It relieves us of the question, ‘what
should I do with my life?’ Where we lack a sense of duty, our Christian life
can become either an enacted fantasy or a barren desert: we can become
anarchists, imagining that we are free from restraint, or become frustrated by
our own impotence and inability to do what Jesus did. A positive appreciation
of duty changes everything. We are to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and do the
thing that Jesus was doing (John 14.12).
Realising this, that we are people under command, should sharpen our awareness
of the need to be attentive in listening to and obeying the voice of God, as
the Holy Spirit would lead and guide forward.
Duty
implies not only participation but also allegiance. Our life and ministry
belong to Jesus Christ, an expression of His ministry. We are, in Christ, the
portals for the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God, into this present world.
Realising this will transform appreciation of our faith: not simply a
subjective feeling within us, but faith as focus and attentiveness to the
character and rule of God. Duty draws us to faith as allegiance to Christ and
His ways, expressed through our lives and brought to the lives of those we live
among and minister to. Faith becomes a call to apprehend the will of God and to
undertake ministry in a way that is both instructed and empowered by Him.
What
of love? Is not love the greatest thing (1
Corinthians 13.13)? Love is the currency of duty, in this life that we live
for God. All that properly proceeds from our Father, in allegiance to and
participation in our Lord Jesus Christ, will be expressed in love. The manner
and investment of that love is to be discerned, through the workings of the
Holy Spirit in us, according to the will of our Heavenly Father. This is the
path of discernment upon which duty draws us forward.
Questions for reflection:
·
Has a sense of duty shaped your life, as a
Christian? In what ways?
·
How have you gone about seeking to discern
God’s will for the way ahead?
·
In what ways has God given guidance into
your life through other people?
