Service

Service. This word can have multiple definitions depending on the context. As a noun, service is the action of  doing work for someone or helping them. As a verb it can mean performing and routine check, or maintenance on something. But as Christians what should service mean to us?

Service should encompass both of these definitions as well as carrying out God's Ideals. That means we should serve the Church community as well as the local community. It means we should hold food drives, fundraisers, community outreach programs and the likes. We should be spreading the good news  of the Gospel not just by preaching what is written in the Word, but we should also be physically serving the community.

There are so many ways to serve. But as Christians, often times we do not serve enough, nor can we ever serve enough. Why is that? We tend to think that there will always be people who are willing to serve the community so those roles have been covered. But the truth is, there aren't as many people serving the community as we think there are. In fact, there are not enough people serving.

And then when faced with the question as to why some Christians do not serve enough, the excuses come flooding through. People claim to be too busy with work. They are too tired, they have no time...blah blah blah. What can be so serious that one cannot take one hour a week at the very least to serve? What can be so important that it takes more priority than serving God's people and delivering the good news? Our religion is not based on good works that gets us to heaven, it is by grace. But this is no excuse to not serve. John 13:12-14 says:"When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet. He set an example that we should all follow. This is not in the literal sense that we should also wash other people's feet, but that we should also do everything we can in our power to serve.

There is also the excuse that some people will not be recognized for their hard work or effort. for that excuse, Colossians 3:23-24 says : "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ".

Sometimes I get the feeling that non-Christians really don't like us. They think we are some Jesus loving freaks and that we serve for ulterior motives. They think that once they attend some even hosted by the Church that they will be forced into Christianity. I really feel sorry for those people. We are children of the Lord, and by that definition, it is our nature to serve. God loves us and we should love each other. Jesus served us and we should serve others. His ultimate service to us was dying for us on the cross. He saved us from damnation and gave his life for us. That is the ultimate price Jesus paid for service. And here we are complaining about being too tired to served and that we can't even give up an hour of our time.

On an closing note, we do not want to convert people by service because that not what service is about. Service is one way that we as Christians spread the good news of the Gospel.  We serve because we love. And that should be our motto.