Beyond Obedience, Why Serve?
Beyond obedience to Christ, I serve in order to secure a reward, live well, and have fullness in Christ. I serve so that others might secure a reward, live well, and have fullness in Christ. I also serve for the sake of my friendship with Jesus Christ.
How do I secure a reward and live well? "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they might take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (emphasis mine). God knows that I am not motivated by the ideal - that altruistic behavior is good for society. He knows that I am glad to do work that leads to fullness of life and a sure and substantial reward.
To have fullness in Christ is to be mature, complete, and able to do whatever Jesus calls me to do. It is the job of leaders in the church “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 6:12-13 It is by serving that I help draw non-believers to Jesus Christ. It is by serving and being served in the body of Christ that I build up others and I am built up myself. It is only by serving in unity with other believers that I can begin to have fullness in Christ. I believe that an individual’s fullness in Christ cannot be achieved independently. I believe that fullness in Christ cannot even exist apart from communion with Christ and communion with other believers.
I also serve for the sake of friendship. I know that Jesus loves me regardless of what I do or don’t do. However, friendship with Jesus requires me to act. So I serve in order to foster my friendship with Jesus. “You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:4. I believe that this statement actually gets at the basis of any real friendship. Friendship is more than having a good time with each other. Unless we make requests of each other and serve each another, we are not truly friends. In addition to demanding obedience, even Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
I find it difficult to serve people whose attitudes and actions hurt themselves and/or others. One thing that helps me is to first pray that God will bless them. If I can sincerely and earnestly pray that God will bless them (and I think this is a biblical thing to do – see Romans 12:14, Matthew 6:44-45, 48) then I can continue to be a blessing to them by serving them as God leads me to do.
How do I secure a reward and live well? "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they might take hold of the life that is truly life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 (emphasis mine). God knows that I am not motivated by the ideal - that altruistic behavior is good for society. He knows that I am glad to do work that leads to fullness of life and a sure and substantial reward.
To have fullness in Christ is to be mature, complete, and able to do whatever Jesus calls me to do. It is the job of leaders in the church “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 6:12-13 It is by serving that I help draw non-believers to Jesus Christ. It is by serving and being served in the body of Christ that I build up others and I am built up myself. It is only by serving in unity with other believers that I can begin to have fullness in Christ. I believe that an individual’s fullness in Christ cannot be achieved independently. I believe that fullness in Christ cannot even exist apart from communion with Christ and communion with other believers.
I also serve for the sake of friendship. I know that Jesus loves me regardless of what I do or don’t do. However, friendship with Jesus requires me to act. So I serve in order to foster my friendship with Jesus. “You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:4. I believe that this statement actually gets at the basis of any real friendship. Friendship is more than having a good time with each other. Unless we make requests of each other and serve each another, we are not truly friends. In addition to demanding obedience, even Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
I find it difficult to serve people whose attitudes and actions hurt themselves and/or others. One thing that helps me is to first pray that God will bless them. If I can sincerely and earnestly pray that God will bless them (and I think this is a biblical thing to do – see Romans 12:14, Matthew 6:44-45, 48) then I can continue to be a blessing to them by serving them as God leads me to do.
posted by wasabi at 2:39 PM
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