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| Serving God by Serving Others | September 20, 2007, 11:40:22 AM | Serving God by Serving Others
In the 30+ years since becoming a Christian it seems that there have been many wasted opportunities in my life when it comes to serving God....mostly because I failed to seize many available opportunities to serve others. Seldom, if at all, have I gone to the local jail, hospital or nursing home to witness and spread the message of Christ to others. I have never really been in a financial position to help much when it comes to the poor, but surely there have been opportunities to do some kind of good for those less fortunate, if not monetarily then perhaps in some other manner. However, in my Christian walk what have I actually done to show my love for others? I know that many Christians are strong in their spiritual faith, they strive to be strong in their prayer lives, biblical studies or even church attendance, and yet, I wonder sometimes how many of them are as equally sound in their service to God by showing their love for other people. I know that in my own Christian life there is much room for improvement when it comes to actually demonstrating my Christian love by serving others.
Our Lord Jesus Christ affirmed that the ultimate law of God is that we love our Heavenly Father with all our heart and to also love our neighbors as ourselves. {Matthew 22:34-40} The apostle John wrote of this in a similar manner in one of his letters where he said, "And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." {1 John 4:21} It should be clearly understood by everyone who has an honest heart with respect to this issue that loving others is an essential and equal part of loving God. You cannot separate the two actions when it comes to having a genuine relationship with God.
So, exactly how do believers go about loving God, and in what manner can they actually demonstrate this love for God? It would seem that some believers think that their faith in Christ is alone enough to have a secure relationship with God....with little need for doing much else. After all, Christ has done all that is necessary for salvation, so what else is there, right? There are some believers that take things to another extreme and try their best to have a relationship with God by trying to uphold all of the legal aspects of Christianity. But where is the truth on this issue?
James, the brother of Jesus, wrote very powerfully in his letter addressing the issue of faith vs. works, and there he put it this way:
"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." {James 2:18 - NIV}
Earlier in this same letter James wrote that believers are not to be mere hearers of the word, but instead are to be doers of it. {See James 1:21-25}
The beloved apostle John also wrote somthing pertaining to this issue in his letter, saying:
"If someone says, 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." {1 John 4:20-21 NKJV}
Jesus Christ himself spoke best on this issue when He told the story of the "sheep and the goats" as recorded in Matthew 25:31-46. Here our Lord taught His disciples that on the Day of Judgment there will be those who are given an eternal inheritance because of the things they did while here on earth, as well as those who will be sent into eternal destruction because they failed to do the very same things.
"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 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 it for me.' {Matt. 25:34-40 - NIV}
The thing about the story pictured in the above scripture is that Jesus is talking to those who are His followers. How many today are trying to follow Christ in some manner other than serving their fellow man out of genuine love?
So, it is not enough for a believer to merely have faith or to be saved by the grace of God. Nor is it correct to be centered only on doctrine or the "letter of the law" but still miss out on the "Spirit of the law." A believer must love our Lord by loving and serving others. Anything else is nothing but an empty religion and accomplishes nothing.
Through God's Holy Spirit He has taught us these valuable lessons of love and service to others. Everyone who longs to have a lasting relationship with God through Jesus Christ must lovingly serve others just as they would serve the Lord Himself.
May we all strive to better love and serve the Lord by serving other people....not out of mere compliance, but out of genuine love from the heart. There are more than enough opportunities available for each of us to serve someone else in a loving manner, and only when we do so we will be able to say that we truly know what it means to love the Lord!
Grace and Peace to all…
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