The Heart of Service

This is an old blog that I think is relevant in all of our lives and something that I feel is especially important to me right now.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about serving and loving people. Why do we serve? Why do we show people the love of God? Is it because we want people to see our good works? Or do we serve because it makes us feel good? 

Ephesians 6:6-8 (AMP) “Not in the way of eye-service [as if they were watching you] and only to please men, but as servants (slaves) of Christ, doing the will of God heartily and with your whole soul; Rendering service readily with goodwill, as to the Lord and not to men, Knowing that for whatever good anyone does, he will receive his reward from the Lord, whether he is slave or free”.

My hope is that we serve people and love people because God wants us to and tells us to. 

The word of God tells us over and over again that we are to serve the least:

Matthew 25:31-46,Luke 6:27-36,Mark 10:35-45,Proverbs 31:8-9,James 2:14-17,Phillipians 2:1-18,Romans 12:9-13,Proverbs 14:21. This is only a short list of what God's word says.

 Romans 12:1-2(ESV)

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”.

God tells us that we are to fully surrender to Him. When we accept Christ, we are called to be 'holy', that is "set apart". What does this mean to you? Does this mean that we just pretend to be 'holy' or does this mean that we look completely different than the world, that we act different, talk differently and interact differently than everyone else. As believers in Christ, we shouldn't have the mindset that we "have" to serve others; we should have the mindset that we "get" to serve others. If we go into a service project or an outreach with the mindset that it is hard work, or it is an inconvenience, then we are going to show that to others. When we serve people we have to do it out of love for God.

If we have accepted Christ then we are transformed and renewed and we are beginning the process of becoming more like Christ. As we walk through this process, then we start to understand God’s heart and we start to see things through the eyes and heart of God. This is what I think it means to “Love the Lord with all your heart”. When we do this, our heart starts breaking for the things that break God’s heart.  This is the desire of the heart that God wants to give us. This is the ultimate goal of accepting Christ, to bring his kingdom closer. Serving people should come from the heart and we know from God's word that God gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). Hmm, so as a disciple of Christ my desires are no longer my desires but God’s desires. This all makes perfect sense now. I should serve people and love people because that is the heart of God and as a follower of Jesus Christ; I have the heart of God.

Reflect on Ephesians 6:6-8 and search your heart. Are you serving because you “have” to or because you “GET” to, through the grace of God.