If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you likely know that you are called to serve others. Jesus makes this commandment clear when He shares that, from Heaven’s vantage point, the one who is greatest is the one who serves (Mt. 20:26). Christ exemplified the importance and the impact of serving others when, with humility and love, He went to the cross to conquer death on behalf of those who had violated His commands.
Many new Christians, knowing the command to serve, may be eager and faithful to do so, at first. Yet over time, circumstances and doubt may seem to conspire to pull you away from your ministry post. “I am too busy to serve,” we may be tempted to say; or “I am not qualified enough to serve.” We may even think we are being humble when we say things like “I am just not ready yet. When I have grown in my walk with God, then I will serve.” Even if these descriptors are accurate and you are busy, ill-equipped, or have a lack of knowledge – we should realize what they really are – excuses. God calls every one of His children to serve and while some specific roles have specific qualifications, the only qualification that someone needs to serve God is to be His kid. If that is you, you should be serving.
But in the moments when you are tempted to stop – when you start believing that somehow the excuses are, in your case, justification, here are three things to keep in mind:
- God blesses faithfulness. – Christ told his disciples that to be trusted with much, you had to be trustworthy with little (Luke 16:10). Therefore, there is no “small” or “insignificant” service to God. All ministry, all work done unto Him, is meaningful because it is an indication of how well we will steward what He has given us. Maybe you aren’t prepared to lead a small group (for example) but the answer to that is not to abandon service all together. Faithfully do what you can do. Send out the prayer requests; deliver meals: write cards of encouragement. Your eternal impact will not grow if you are not faithful in the “little” things God calls you to do.
- Faithfulness encourages others. – If the rewards God promises seems like a selfish reason to faithfully serve (and I would contend that it isn’t), it may be helpful to realize that your faithful obedience to do what God has called you to, can encourage others to faithfully serve where God has called them. After all, who isn’t encouraged to persevere in the circumstances they are in, when they think of Paul’s faithful service to God despite the dire situations he faced? Be warned, though, if your faithful service can be encouraging, lack of faithfulness may lead others astray. If they see you abandoning ministry posts or believing your excuses exempt you from obedience, they may think the same is acceptable for them. If you are faithful to what God has called you to, even when the situation is challenging or you feel like calling it quits, others will be encouraged to do so as well.
- Faithfulness fuels your ongoing growth. If you want to find a Christian that is growing, find someone who is serving. If you want to be a growing Christian, you should be a serving one. I know of nothing that will motivate you to know the Word better, to represent Christ more truly, or to understand His love more fully, then knowing that there are people to whom you are the hands and feet of Jesus. It may not seem like you are growing in your walk with Christ when you teach the four-years old in Sunday School, or when you write a card of encouragement to a shut-in, but you are. Jesus said that if you want to be great in His Kingdom, you need to serve. If you want to know Christ’s love more deeply and walk with Him more closely, serve His people.
If you want to find them, there will always be excuses not to serve. But let us realize that these excuses are nothing more than temptations to disobey God. If you are God’s child, He wants you to be serving. And although you may serve His people in different ways in different seasons, we should never stop serving, until the day He calls us Home.
