[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 30/Aug/2015]
Dreams are very significant in the Bible and were often used by God to show his will to whoever had the dream. There are many examples and ones that spring to mind are, for instance, those of Joseph, Pharaoh’s butler and baker, Pharaoh himself, Nebuchadnezzar, the wise men and Joseph, the husband of Mary. I am sure that your dreams are like mine. If we do remember them then they are often confused and meaningless.
But there have been some occasions when I have had a very clear and memorable dream. One such time was quite a short dream in the style of a period drama that we see on television. In the dream, I saw an elderly servant who was working as a clerk at a large, highly polished, wooden desk. He had an In-tray that was piled high with parchment documents which he was working through. In between the documents were decoratively wrapped gifts that encouraged and helped the servant in his work.
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and there stood a tall and very powerful man. The servant was surprised, but he said to the man, “Sire, it is true. You are alive. You have returned.” The man was obviously a king because “sire” was used to address a king. The king strode into the room, but instead of the servant bowing down to him they threw their arms round one another. The king gave his servant a great hug, but the servant found it difficult to get his arms round the wide and powerful shoulders of his master. The king picked up the in-tray which was now empty, and asked, “Who has completed this work of mine?” The servant replied,” I have, sire, together with your friend and brother. Look, here they come now.” They were joined by two others. The king turned to all three and said, “I shall reward you, my servant, friend and brother.” At that point the dream ended, but the memory of it has always stayed with me.
I recently read a lesser known parable of Jesus in Luke 12:35-39, which reminded me of the dream. Verses 37 and 38 say,
“The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.” (NLT)
As we look round our church we see many who are faithfully serving our King in working for His kingdom here on earth. There are others too who are quietly serving Him in their lives by giving comfort to those in need, by praying for healing and strength to those who are struggling, and giving help to those who feel weak.
We do not know when Jesus will return, nor serve Him to gain a reward when it happens, but we do serve Him out of gratitude because He gave everything to save us and give us eternal life. We also serve Him because He is our example – the Servant King.
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Contributed by Michael Goble; © the Author
