If you are a Christian, Jesus has redeemed and rescued your life from an eternity in a terrible place called hell (never created for you, but for the devil), as well as given you peace and freedom from guilt by forgiving all your sins, and THEN, through His grace, made available to you all the power of the Holy Spirit for righteous and victorious living.
Now, if that’s all true, and it is, shouldn’t we be SERVING Him with ALL OUR HEARTS? And heads, and hands, and everything else that we have and are? If we’re grateful , I would think so! Yet, so often we allow all sorts of things to keep us complacent, comfortable, un-caring, distracted, and just focusing on me, myself and I. The “thorns” of Mark 4:18-19
Jesus tied serving to worship and our love for God. We say we worship and love God, but IF that’s really true we will be serving Him! When Jesus had finally tired of the devil’s lies and temptations in Matthew 4, He said to Satan “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve‘”. (v. 10) If we truly worship God, we will serve Him. If we are not serving, we don’t really worship Him! We are only kidding ourselves!
So, can I ask you, “What on EARTH on you doing for HEAVEN’S sake?” 🙂 Where and how are you serving? What serving team are you a part of at your local church? The church is God’s “army” to defeat the devil and set the captives free! It’s the church that Jesus died for! (Eph 5:25) It’s the church that Jesus is building! (Matthew 16:18) If we’re serving Jesus, we will for sure be serving in His church! Besides your own family, what are you doing to serve God and helping Jesus build His church?
Paul in Romans 12.12 said we should be “burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord!” Does that describe you? God wants it to! He wants you to be so caught up in His love and grace in your life that you can’t help but serve and to share God’s love with others!
I have heard all the excuses. So did Jesus. He even wrote a parable about those with excuses. See Luke 14:15-24. I know people are in all sorts of different situations, but the bottom line is if we really want to, we will find a way to serve God! The problem is often not really the “how to”, the problem often really deep down is our “want to”! If we really love God with all our hearts we WILL find a way to serve Him, because we love Him and love others with His love burning inside of us! God will always show us the “how to” if we really have the “want to”! It will also start with His church because THAT is what He is building!
Now is not the time to rest! Now is the time to work! To serve! The Bible makes this clear! Jesus said in John 9:4 that we must “work the works of Him who sent us while it is day, for the night is coming when no one can work”. Then in Revelation 14:3 we are told “Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their work; for their good deeds follow them!” We can rest in heaven! Now it’s time to work! To serve! To make a difference with our efforts for Jesus! Malachi describes the coming of the Lord, and the prophet actually describes it as the difference between those who serve God and those who do not! Wow! That’s strong! 🙂 “Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” – Malachi 3:18
On top of all this, Jesus says serving is the key to success in life, to true greatness and happiness! He said in Mark 9:35 (MSG) “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” It’s the opposite of what the world teaches us, but it’s the truth! The greatest among us will be the servant of all! He won the victory by doing exactly that when He laid aside his heavenly dwelling to come and serve us! He set the example! Now He’s risen in victory! The path is the same for us.
So, where are you serving? If nowhere, step out and start! You will be amazed at what God does IN you, and what God does THROUGH you! Why should God, AFTER ALL HE’S DONE FOR US, let us take even one more breath, or take up space on planet earth, if we are not willing to serve Him?
Serving is the way to (God’s true) success! To true joy! Passion, fun and fulfillment! Believe it! It’s true!
“In my humble opinion, no factor will bring you more joy than getting in touch with your unique gifts and abilities and then using them to serve others.” — Pastor Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, AL
P.S. A Caveat: Of course rest and family are important, and for those with workaholic tendencies, you need to make sure you refuel your tanks with Jesus and take care of yourself and your family. But many out there are American proverbial “pew-warmers” (or “chair-sitters” 🙂 ) and this blog is a gift for YOU! 🙂 It’s time to rise up and serve God! In a healthy church, you’ll love it!! Yes, you’ll have to work hard, but you’ll even have fun! AND it will make a difference in the lives of others and in your own life!