Who does not like to be served? We all do! Being served is nice. The question is, are we willing to serve others? To be a faithful member of the Lord’s church, we must serve others because that is what we have been called to do. Fortunately, we have plenty of opportunities to fulfill this command.
The church is filled with people to serve. There is work to do in our public assemblies for faithful brethren. There are weak members who need encouragement. There are sick members who need visiting. There are new members who need teaching. There are active members who need help doing the work. There are many, many opportunities to serve in the church, but it all begins with Christians realizing that we have been called to serve. We have been saved, not to be kings that sit in high places, but to be servants in the likeness of Christ, and one thing Jesus did was serve. He put it like this:
Mark 10:45 (ESV)
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.”
The problem is that we sometimes neglect to see the opportunities to serve that are right in front of us. I once read a comic piece that depicted this truth.
A woman was lying in her sickbed, obviously in misery. In the sink were stacked piles of dirty dishes. A huge basket of clothes to be ironed sat nearby. Two dirty children were fighting in one corner, and in the other, a cat sat licking spilled milk. A smiling woman stood in the doorway, and the caption had her saying, “Well, Florence, if there is anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Is this the way we are? Surrounded by brethren in need of help, but too self-absorbed to see it. If so, we must do better. In the world of tennis, there are some great tennis players who never win anything big. Why not? They are great athletes. Many of them are fast, strong, and agile, and, in fact, can hit a tennis ball better than 99% of the people on earth; still, they have never won a big event. They are not considered to be champions. Why not? Well, with a lot of them, there is just one thing they would have to do to reach a championship level—improve their serve.
Likewise, many disciples of Christ are very faithful to Christ overall, but they never reach their full potential. Why? They need to improve their serve. What about you? Could your serve use some improvement? One thing that can help us is to realize that serving one another is a huge part of serving Christ.
1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
God has blessed all of us with various talents. Do you know why? One reason, according to Peter, is so that we can serve one another and thereby prove ourselves to be good stewards of God. He set us free in Christ, not to be selfish and self-consumed, but to serve.
Galatians 5:13 (ESV)
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
The world defines greatness in terms of power and possessions. If you can demand service from others, you have arrived. In our self-serving culture, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. But Jesus turned that mentality upside down by commanding His apostles to serve one another and then instructing them to be like Him, the greatest servant of all.
Luke 6:40 (ESV)
40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.