This is Part 10 of our series on Service. Today, I want to share some personal reflections on service.
“We are the only Jesus some people ever see.” I used to think that meant that I’d better treat people really well, be really nice, and always be smiling. But the more I read about Jesus in the Gospels, the more radical I see that he is. And sadly, the more I grow in my relationship with him, the more I realize how rarely I resemble him.
He bypassed the adults to hang out with the children.
He skipped over the religious crowd to hang out with the homeless.
He defied social conventions and touched the lepers.
For the past couple of months, we’ve been talking about having an attitude of service. Today, I would like to share a few things that I have personally learned about service.
Some of us are more “wired†for service than others. I’ve discovered that one of my spiritual temperaments is “activist.†That means that I connect best with God when I am placed in situations where I am required to give every ounce of mental, spiritual, emotional, and physical strength to some Kingdom cause. I find that I am most spiritually satisfied when I fall on my bed at the end of the day, completely exhausted, and say, “God, I gave you everything I had today.â€
I discovered this trait in 1997 on a college missions trip to Mexico. We had gone to assist a church with a construction project, and we spent the entire first day moving stones from one pile to another. That’s literally all we did. (Have you seen this season of Lost? Yeah—another Sawyer out moving rocks). Later that afternoon, our entire crew of students was sitting half-dead near the shed. I was still running around moving rocks and found myself gaining more and more energy with each rock moved. I felt like I was worshiping God with each step, and it was one of the most powerful worship experiences I’ve ever had.
On another trip, we went to a hospital to pass out food, coffee, and water to the patients. Apparently, the hospital was not able to provide those things and patients were dependent upon family and the communities for nourishment. The hospital was filthy, the patients looked terrible, and I was extremely uncomfortable. But I felt the presence of Jesus as I walked through those halls. I felt Jesus’ hand on mine as I reached out with hands of healing– not in the physical sense, but with hope.
On another trip, I spent countless hours just hanging out with kids in the community. I chased them, they chased me, and I pretty much just made a fool out of myself. I definitely collapsed on the bed that night. (Later I collapsed in the bathroom hovering over the toilet, but I won’t go into that).
Service is Discipleship
Service is one way that we experience the discipleship process. If discipleship is about becoming more like Christ, then service is critical. When I consider the times of greatest spiritual growth in my life, many of them consist of times when I was pouring myself out to others. Working for a year on the NCC production team proved to be a valuable discipleship experience because it connected me with Pastor Mark and other NCC leaders who invested in me and encouraged me to grow closer to Christ. Moving rocks from place to place connected me with God in a way that I don’t fully understand and that I don’t seem to experience in other ways.
Service Builds Community
Service builds community. I have discovered that serving together for one afternoon can help me get to know a person faster than talking with them over chips at a small group meeting for an entire semester. It’s the mission trip phenomenon. Have you ever noticed that missions trips teams form an extremely tight bond? I think that God has designed us that way. If you are looking for a way to facilitate a greater level of community within your small group, then get them out to serve.
Service is Good for Your Health
Service keeps our groups healthy. The Dead Sea is dead because water comes in but nothing goes out. That describes a lot of us and a lot of our groups. We consume and take in but we don’t give out. When we don’t give out, we stagnate and become stinky. When a group becomes inwardly focused, it will eventually die. I have seen lots of groups that were so wrapped up in themselves that the climate of the groups became poisonous and they fell apart.
Service Leads to Evangelism
Service keeps our groups focused on the big picture– leading others to Christ. Service opens the door to evangelism. First, it meets practical needs that open people up to receive the Gospel of Christ. Secondly, it places us in the pathway of people whom we may have not met otherwise.
Service is Fun
Finally, service is fun. You cannot look at pictures from the Fantasy Baseball group and claim it must be drudgeryto groom the fields for the Little League. When you look at the Living Out Social Justice Group cleaning rivers and watersheds, they are clearly having a blast. I dare you to get involved with Load the Bus, Angel Tree, or the Live Nativity and see how much fun you can have.
Service Should be a Lifestyle
Finally, I am realizing that service should not be a project– an event we schedule into our busy calendars so we can satisfy our pride and check off our service box. Service should be a lifestyle. I talked about this issue in the very first post of this series. I have to confess that I’m not there yet. I typically view service as something I do every now and then, but to become like Christ I must view it as a lifestyle.
What jumps to mind when you think of service? What lessons have you learned? What is most challenging to you about this series?
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