“What, then,
is service? Serving is putting the needs of others ahead of our own, or putting
the needs of the community ahead of our individual needs. And the Bible says
there are several reasons to do this. The first benefit is self-knowledge.
Don’t think you know your real gifts and capacities until you do a lot of
humble serving in many different capacities around the church. Only as you do
that will you come to understand your own aptitudes.
The second benefit is community. When you
approach the church as a consumer (that is, only to get your needs met), you
are in a solitary mode of being, but when you reject the consumer mindset,
serving will draw you out of yourself and into relationships.
The third
benefit is the fulfillment and joy of seeing others touched through you, or
seeing something great happen through the part you play in the body of Christ.
Paradoxically, if you serve primarily for the benefits to yourself, then it
isn’t really serving, and you won’t receive the benefits. The only workable
dynamic for every-member
ministry is Mark 10:45. [“For even the
Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom
for many.”] Because Jesus served you in
such a radical way, you have a joyful need to serve. It’s
a form of praise that doesn’t fully enjoy what it admires until it expresses
itself in service.” (emphasis mine)
These previous words by Tim Keller seem to
strike a chord of what the Lord has been doing in my heart the past couple of
weeks, although I can’t fully explain it.
What I do know is there is a joy to be found in serving. It seems he draws a neat connection between
Jesus’ service to us as a motivation for us to serve.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Every time I serve, I am not always focused
on Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for me, although it would be great if my mind went
there more consistently. Because Jesus
did die for us, is constantly interceding for us, and is one of perfect
service, we have more than sufficient reason to reach out and serve. Even beyond that, He commands us to (1 Peter
4:10-11).
Christians don’t only give when serving
from the heart in love; they also receive. There is a reserve of joy that can well up
when loving others. I think this is true
because in those moments, albeit sometimes rare, we can love as we have been
loved – we become more one with God, more reflective of Christ, more led by the
Spirit. When we can let go of ourselves,
we are more like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-4).
I don’t believe it’s possible to do this on our
own, but God delights in loving through us, as well as loving us. Our prayer can be that of John the Baptist: “He
must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). May we come to reflect more the perfect Son
of God.
My theory is this: if in our sadness,
loneliness, discontentment, or complacency we can serve…the Lord can work a
miracle in our hearts. He can turn our
sadness to joy, our loneliness to relationship, our discontentment to contentment,
and our complacency to passion. He wants
His love to flow in and out of our hearts, and one way He accomplishes this is
by serving.
So here is my challenge to you. If you are having a hard time, look for
opportunities to serve in love. Then, as
the Lord transforms your heart and emotions, be a beacon of that change. Instead of hiding it, share it! Be the beautiful mess that you are – sharing the
good and the bad – because He is made perfect in our weakness. He looks good when we share how He has
saved, is saving, and will save us.
God is a God of joy who wants to put a new song
in our mouth, including knowledge of His sufficiency in our need and His deep
love for us that never ends.
May Jesus, and Jesus alone, be our song.
(This is a great psalm of praise to the Lord - one of my favorites to loudly sing!!!)
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