22 Feb No In-Between: “Ya Gotta Serve Somebody”

Some have called Bob Dylan a folk-rock prophet for his 1962 song “The Times They Are A-Changin.” The lyrics seem to forecast the turbulent years ahead in the then-young decade. While his 1979 hit “Gotta Serve Somebody” isn’t considered as culturally significant as “Times,” its refrain has a powerful spiritual importance: “Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” Dylan could not have been more correct. There is no in-between, no neutral gear; we will serve one or the other even if we believe we’re serving neither.

John quotes Jesus as saying: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV). Jesus is making clear that we have a choice. Earlier in Chapter 10, He identifies Himself as the Shepherd who came to gather the lost sheep. Serving Jesus simply means surrendering our whole selves to Him.  We then have “life to the full.” We can trust him with every aspect of our life now, and our eternity.

Satan offers a counterfeit of what Jesus offers.  He makes the beautiful life Jesus offers look ugly and the ugly life of sin he offers look beautiful. Once we take the bait, we are his servant. And here’s where Dylan is truly prophetic: there is no middle ground. Many people dangerously believe there is a third choice: neither.

They believe they can be a “good person” without choosing Jesus or Satan. The reality is that if we don’t choose Jesus, we leave ourselves at the mercy of “the ruler of this world.” Without the protection of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness, we are vulnerable to Satan’s desire to “steal and kill and destroy:”

The purpose of the thief is to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. He comes for purely selfish motives. In order to gain his own desires, he would even kill the sheep. But the Lord Jesus does not come to the human heart for any selfish reason. He comes to give, not to get. He comes that people may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. We receive life the moment we accept Him as our Savior. After we are saved, however, we find that there are various degrees of enjoyment of this life. The more we turn ourselves over to the Holy Spirit, the more we enjoy the life which has been given to us. We not only have life then, but we have it more abundantly. (William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary)

The Apostle Peter put it this way: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.1 Peter 5:8 (NIV). You either surrender to the protection of Jesus Christ, or you are constantly vulnerable to enemy attack. There is no “good enough,” no “neutral.” So, where are you as you read this?

Have you accepted the gracious protection of your Lord or are you merely a slab of meat about to be devoured? It’s a critically important question because Dylan was right: it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody. Choose today: who will it be?

Pastor Jerry Bader