Serving

“We can only enter into sanctity in the eyes of God by returning into infamy in the eyes of men.”

Who do you seek to please as you serve? Well, most Christians would immediately answer, “God, of course!” But in reality think NOTHING about God as they serve. Think about Christ washing the disciples’ feet. Do you realize just how disgusting that was? The dirt and grime of the dusty roads mingled with sticky
sweat to make traces of mud on their feet. This job was relegated to the lowest servant.

Christ washed their feet.

Let that sink in.

Christ – the Son of God. The Creator of the universe. The Messiah.

Washed – used his hands, getting all the grime on them.

Their – the disciples. The overzealous Peter who would soon thrice deny him. The traitorous Judas, who
would betray him to the religious leaders.

Feet – sweaty, dirty feet.

THAT was ministering. THAT was serving.
Serving is working in the nursery changing diapers and wiping snotty noses.

Serving is doing someone’s dirty laundry so they don’t have to.

Serving is cleaning up messes after a sick family member.

Serving is doing the dishes after a church fellowship while other people are fellowshipping.

Serving is being like Christ.

Serving is doing the unwanted.

But serving isn’t only “doing” things.

Think about it… Jesus took time for people. He CARED about them.

Think about the people Jesus served. Blind men. Lepers. Lame men. Prostitutes. Children. Sick. Poor. Dead.

Serving is becoming part of someone’s life. Caring for them. Caring about them.

How many times do we as Christians care only what others look like or act like? We become so concerned with “issues” that we neglect to love them. To love what they ARE. Why? Because Christ loved us where we were. And, yes, we do have to see where they can go, but they should know that we CARE about them, not just about what they “do.”

Do we minister and serve those who are in need? Or do we “minister” and “serve” those we deem as “acceptable” for us to mingle with? While Christ dined with Zacchaeus, the publican, the religious leaders said “He was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.”

But Christ said, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”

“We can only enter into sanctity in the eyes of God by returning into infamy in the eyes of men.”

Longing for Home...

Envision with me an extravagantly poor city. People sleeping in wet and damp cardboard boxes. Children starving, their thin frames covered in rags. No family group exists, each person alone in the world. The smell of death covers the rotting city. But, they take pleasure in their things… their rags… their cardboard houses…

You live here. But, you are different than most of the people. You have a ticket out of the city. You have a home in the Great City. There everyone has enough food, a mansion with heat and air-conditioning. The softest clothes that exist. All your family is there. You have all the riches you could ever want… in that city. You have a date that you go home… but what do you do until then?

Do you fight over the cardboard boxes? Do you compare your rags with other people’s rags?

No, you look expectantly look to the day you get to go home. You can't take your card-board boxes with you… nor would you want to.

The only thing that you can take from the poor city is people… you can tell others about the Great City… and about how they can gain a home there. Would you tell people?

Of course!!!! Why wouldn’t you?

And, when that day comes, would you say, “I don’t want to go. Let me stay here! I want to stay in my card-board house.”

No! You would run into the arms of the Mayor, thankful to be home.

Then why do you?
Why do Christians fight over the “cardboard houses” of this life when we have mansions in eternity? Why do we tear others apart when we should be uniting for survival? A quote I heard that hit me, “How can we see souls saved when we’re shooting our own wounded?” How pointless! We should be joining together to tell others about eternity. But instead we try to make ourselves look better than another rag-clad person.

Why do Christians cling to the things of this world? Why do we hoard our rags and cardboard boxes like
they are worth something? We can't take them where we’re going… nor would we want to!

Why? Because we don’t live for eternity. We see only the poor city, and after a while of ignoring the value of eternity, we cease to see that value. And we place our value on what we can see.

“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Many times this is used to refer to our finances and possessions. But look at the meaning of the last part of the verse… “there will your heart be also.” Our heart, desire, and longing should be eternity.

But, even I’ve thought… there is so much here on earth, and in heaven, all we’ll do is worship… that’s great… but after a while, it’s going to get kinda… well, you know where I’m going with this, because you’ve sometime thought it too.

Think about this: Have you ever either got something right with the Lord, whether it be an area of sin or just surrendered to Him, or had a truth come alive before you? When that has happened to me, I’ve just wanted to read my bible, pray, or fellowship with other believers. Then… life goes on. We can't just sit in our rooms and read our Bible for the rerst of our lives.

But in heaven, that “feeling” will be on steroids… and the pull of this world or duties of life will not get in the way of that. We will be with CHRIST! No sin to separate us from Him. No responsibilities to fulfill… we can glory in the PRESENT glory of Glory.

Can you imagine? Heaven’s sounding sweeter all the time.

Why live for this world? Take some time to think about eternity… and LONG for it!