Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
Fair enough. But that's not what you said. You said that the idea that Luke 17:7-10 is about us serving the Master dinner before we have dinner is a "difficult position to support," when in fact that's exactly what it's about.
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You are correct. It is what I said.
But whether I was right before (probably not) or you are right now (possibly) it really doesn't change the nature of the lack of support for Nee's assertions about it.
And while the example is about serving the master dinner before we eat our own, I don't think that the meaning is that we have to serve the master dinner before we get our own. It is that the master has the right to order it to be that way. And it is the servant's duty to obey.
It is actually phrased as "suppose any one of you has a servant . . . " It is probably reasonable to assume that the intent is to refer back to God as the one with the servant. But it doesn't necessarily have to be so to make the point it seems to actually make.
The point I see in it is that a servant is a servant full time. Just because they plowed for the day, service is not over when the sun gets too low. It continues on (and on and on). The master determines when the servant can take time for himself. Of course a righteous master does not demand all of the time and no provision to eat or sleep. But he does set the schedule for it.
And no matter who is the master in these verses, there is nothing about them that makes the cooking of the dinner special or primary. It is all part of the tasks assigned.
And in the same way, we are servants full-time. And if not, it is due to disobedience. Our only true choice in the matter is whether to obey or to disobey. Plow or sleep. Cook the master's dinner or eat our own. Do the tasks assigned or go into town for a drink at the local pub to complain about our task-master.
I'm sure that there was something going on inside me that saw there was no true support for Nee, but wanted to make it more severe than it actually was. I didn't go about that willfully, but nevertheless I did it.