Pursuing Our Destiny, Part 18–The Discipline of Service

For you were called to freedom, brothers.  Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13, ESV)

One of the joys of being a pastor flows out of the various ways I get to serve people.  For the second weekend this month, I have the privilege of serving through grief and joy.  I have a funeral on Friday for a wonderful, loving man who entered the presence of Jesus earlier this week.  The next day, I officiate at a wedding of friends in Lancaster County.  At both events, I’m there to serve—to minister to families and friends in their grief and their joy.

 The upcoming wedding will display the importance of service in a new way for me.  The bride and groom have asked me to include a brief foot-washing component to their wedding service.  They want to display not only their love for each other, but also their commitment to serving each other through all the days of their marriage.

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster writes that “… Jesus took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness.”  Alluding to the night before his crucifixion when Jesus washed the disciples feet, Foster asserts that greatness is defined in service to others, not in others serving us.  Jesus modeled this reality in his life and in his words: even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28, ESV)

Service is an interesting spiritual discipline.  Sometimes we serve without it being a discipline—we serve out of love and concern with no regard for what the service brings to our own lives.  Then, there are the other times.  Dallas Willard speaks of the “other times” like this: “But I may also serve another to train myself away from arrogance, possessiveness, envy, resentment, or covetousness.  In that case, my service is undertaken as a discipline of the spiritual life.”

During the recovery from Hurricane Sandy, I witnessed incredible acts of service from people near and far away.  In less than a week after the storm, Southern Baptists from North Carolina were set up in our church parking lot, preparing up to 10,000 meals per day to be distributed throughout the Jersey Shore.  Many of those who served would tell you that they got more from their service than they gave.  Serving changed them!

Pastor Perry Messick and the people of First Baptist Church in Collingdale, PA brought a team of people and all the equipment to do their “Evening in Bethlehem” presentation as a gift to our community.  They came early and stayed late on the Saturday before Christmas, just to serve people recovering from the devastation Sandy brought to the shore.  As they ministered to us, God worked in their lives.

But service isn’t always a big deal.  It may be a little thing as simple as holding a door for someone and letting him or her go before us.  It may be a word of encouragement that trains us to care about others.  Bearing someone’s burden with them (Galatians 6:2) can be an act of service that builds holiness into our lives.

Richard Foster asks us in his book to ask, “What does service look like in my daily life?”  If I may paraphrase his question, perhaps we should ask this question, “How does Jesus want to make me more like him through serving others?”  That’s the question that makes service a spiritual practice—when it’s about changing you or me, conforming us to the image of Christ.  Let’s think this week about how God can use our service to make us more like Jesus. – Pastor John Strain blogs weekly on Freedom Fighter

Daily Bible Reading: Ezekiel 16-17; John 11:30-57

Quote of the day: There are two things I’ve learned: There is a God. And I’m not Him

Verse to Memorize:  My lips will pour forth praise, for you teach me Your statutes. My tongue will sing of Your word, for all Your commandments are right. Psalm 119:171-172