Thursday, November 19, 2009

Serve God in love...

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
(Matthew 25:31-40, NIV)

We love God by serving him. We serve him by serving his people.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? If the church is, as Paul says, the body of Christ, then service to the church is love for Jesus himself. We are made one with Christ when we believe and so those who serve us serve him. If you serve me because I am a believer, you serve Jesus. If I serve you because you are a believer, I serve God himself.

In Mark 9:41, Jesus made this abundantly clear to his disciples. Listen to what he says. “I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.” (NIV)

Service matters. It is a very real expression of love to God. It is, in part, how we love with all our strength. Physical service is rewarded by God.

So how will you express your love through service? You might look after widows and orphans in their distress. You might feed the hungry. You might clothe the naked. You might encourage the discouraged. You might pray for the lost. You might instruct children in God’s ways. You might give to the poor. You might visit the sick. You might advise the doubting. You might work hard at the job God has given you.

God knows your gifts and abilities and he has something for you to do.

“For we [you and I] are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

When you do what God created you to do, what he designed just you to do, he is pleased. He receives your service to your brother or your sister as love and he will reward you for the love you have expressed to him.

Every believer is given at least one spiritual gift. Your particular gift mix was given to you by God for a purpose. Do you know what that purpose is?

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 tells you and me why we were gifted by God for certain tasks. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (NIV)

Your spiritual gift is yours so that you can serve me and every other believer. My spiritual gift is mine so that I can serve all of you. We each, in turn, serve our brothers and sisters in Christ for the good of the body. And when we serve each other, we serve God. When we serve God, we show our love for him.

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