I don’t know what season you are in at the moment. In my life, I currently am in a busy season doing a ministry apprenticeship at UOW as well as some things at church. This week has felt particularly busy.
I think lots of us can feel quite busy with “serving” in different seasons. It may be that you are currently in a season of changing lots of nappies and serving a needy toddler 24/7. Or you may be caring for your elderly relatives as they now age. Or managing a busy schedule being a taxi driver with lots of school pick-ups and drop-offs. Or on your feet for long hours doing full-time work. Amidst this, many of you are quite involved and committed to lots of different ministries within our church (from kids, to the elderly, to English Classes and much more!)
I recently read a book called “Serving without Sinking” (by John Hindley) that I found refreshing and applicable to my current season.
It says: “The thing is, that Christians serve for many kinds of reasons-and almost all of them are flawed. I know my motives are mixed at best, wrong at worst.” It goes on to say: “wherever and however you are serving, the truths in this book apply.”
The first chapters analyse various wrong heart motives people can have for serving. It explains that people may serve with a wrong view of God: to be good enough for him, or to get something from him, or to pay him back. People may serve with a wrong view of others: to belong, or to impress. Or people may serve with a wrong view of themselves: thinking that Jesus needs them, or that they don’t need Jesus.
After this, it dwells on the verse:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The book states: “the only way to get our service of Jesus right is to realise that supremely, we don’t serve Him. He serves us. The way to serve without sinking is to get to grips with the strange reality that Christians are not first and foremost servants; they are served.”
The second lovely topic the book explores is that of friendship with Jesus.
Jesus says:
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
This concept can counter wrong motives of why we serve. We shouldn’t serve out of compulsion or to impress but rather joyously out of a love for Jesus who calls us his friends!
May each of us, whatever season we are in, seek to serve with joy out of a heart of love for our friend Jesus who died for us. May we delight in Jesus’s service to us at the cross, and his ongoing service of intercession! He is our ultimate servant who is truly worthy of all our praise!
Rachel Chin
11:30am Congregation – Staff Member
