CALLED TO SERVE THROUGH LOVE
Paul tells us this in Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; 21 only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh, 22 but through love serve one another
Through Love serve each other. A powerful statement if ever I have heard one. If Love is our highest goal then to serve each other is our highest calling! Service to others requires that we have our minds set on the things of the Spirit and not the things of the flesh. Yes our sins have been forgiven and forgotten through the Grace of Love however this does not mean that we should create new sin (works of the flesh) even though Love and grace cover sin.
Rom 6:1-11
6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. 1
6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. 2 6:6 We know that 3 our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, 4 so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.) 5
6:8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 6:9 We know 6 that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he is never going to die 7 again; death no longer has mastery over him. 6:10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 6:11 So you too consider yourselves 8 dead to sin, but 9 alive to God in Christ Jesus.
We died to sin, it no longer has control or mastery over us. We are now made alive in Love (Christ) and are indeed enslaved to Love. This is why we are told to walk in Love. that 17 we love one another. 1:6 (Now this is love: that we walk 18 according to his commandments.) This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus 19 you should walk in it. 20 2 John 1
Now that we are dead to sin and are alive in and walk in Love there is absolutely no reason NOT to serve each other. Because we can do all things through God- our Source, serving will be as easy as breathing and should be just as natural.
Consider what Peter says here 2 Peter 4 7-11
So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. 21 4:8 Above all keep 22 your love for one another fervent, 23 because love covers a multitude of sins. 24 4:9 Show hospitality 25 to one another without complaining. 4:10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another 26 as good stewards of the varied grace of God. 4:11 Whoever speaks, let it be with 27 God’s words. 28 Whoever serves, do so with the strength 29 that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong 30 the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Our Source supplies us with the strength to serve, that Source is Love, Just as John tells us here in 1 john 4:11 Dear friends, if God so loved us, then 28 we also ought to love one another. 29 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. 30 If we love one another, God resides 31 in us, and his love is perfected in us. 32 4:13 By this 33 we know that we reside in God 34 and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit.
Folks it truly is all about Love, abiding in Love allowing that Love to be in us and walking in that Love, BEING Love.
Consider Romans 12
12:9 Love must be 9 without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.
12:10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.
12:11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12:12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.
12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.
12:14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.
12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
12:16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. 10 Do not be conceited. 11
12:17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.
12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.
12:19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
12:20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.
12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
We are to eagerly devote ourselves to one another, with zeal and enthusiasm honor one other! Cry and laugh with one another, live in harmony with one another! Paul even goes so far as to tell us to pray for those that persecute us and to attend to the needs of our enemies!
Beloved, we are the salt and the light of this world, Love has provided a free gift to ALL people and as Ambassadors of Love it our duty is to love each other thereby showing them we are Disciples of Love!
After all Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”
LOVE CAN BE A CHALLENGE
Do to others as you would have them do to you. Sometime those that we love and hold dear can challenge us, sometime those that we love most, will make us the angriest. This is why we must constantly work to replace thought of anger and hate with thoughts of love and peace.
I'll admit this is a challenge for me! While I do not consider anyone in my life an enemy there is those that bring out the worst in me. And quite frankly there are no warm fuzzy feelings associated with them.
But I suppose that is the point of the Golden Rule that despite a lack of the warm fuzzes we should treat others as we want to be treated. This implies to me that love is not just a feeling but an action.
This is why we should meditate or think on this on a daily basis, for as a man thinks so is he.
Proverbs 23:7 (New King James Version)
FOR AS HE THINKS IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE.
Philippians 4:8 (New International Version)
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
So if I am thinking hateful, vengeful thoughts, its going to be really hard to love my enemy, my neighbor, my family or my slef. However if I am thinking loving, kind thoughts (towards myself, my family, etc...) then it will be much easier for me to love those in my life.
Again, I feel that it is very important that this become a daily thought process - one that must be continually be driven home.
Blank Looks
Lately I have been watching some reruns of a favorite series of mine for the 90's. In a few of the episodes the world was supposedly full of love and peace.
Everyone was walking around with these dopey grins and blank looks on their faces, bending over backwards to be nice and at peace with all other people.
Today a particularly sullen and negative person was suddenly transformed into a peppy, upbeat and positive person who saw the "silver lining" in everything.
By the end he had gotten on everyone's nerves, thankfully He was back to "normal" at the end of the episode.
Love Isn't Sappy
Yeah, this was TV and as such things were over the top, you know dramatic and all that jazz. However I can't help but wonder if that is how some of us perceive Love or the Divine.
In this writer's opinion, Love isn't that sappy, at least not all the time. Folks that truly believe in Divine Love and in following the path of Divine Love aren't all like that. Me? Well I am a "normal" guy. I don't walk around with a dopey grin and blank look on my face nor do I point out the silver lining in all situations.
At First Sight?
Love isn't instant, it is a growth process. Sure it would be nice if we could all suddenly be transformed into Loving caring individuals at the sight of those in need or those that crave love and attention.
However, that isn't the way of things. Love is a maturation process that takes desire, time and energy to achieve. We must always press toward the mark and fight the good fight, ya know, Never Give Up, Never Surrender!
Beloved, we don't have to adopt a sappy grin or blank look to walk in Love. We don't have to see the silver lining in every cloud all the time.
We can walk in Love; we can enjoy life in a positive and optimistic way, without being over the top. Just be yourself.
I know that to some this is a radical concept, to place the focus on Love and walking in love rather than admonishing ourselves for failing and making mistakes and in the midst of that it can be easy to fault others and place blame.
However we have been given a new commandment: Love one another. As HE has have loved you, so you must love one another.
The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
WWJD?? HE WOULD WALK IN LOVE!
Where we would be as followers of Christ had He (Jesus) a "My rights" mentality? I wonder, had he this attitude, if he would have sued the Roman Government for whipping Him and for placing a crown of thorns upon His head?
I wonder, had he this attitude, if he would have sued the Roman soldier who pierced His side or who gave him vinegar to drink whilst on the cross? I wonder, had he this attitude, if He would have sued those who divided u His clothing and sold them?
I wonder, had he this attitude, if He would have bothered to come to this world at all? We are most fortunate that Jesus did NOT have this attitude. Folks, He did not die for our rights, He did not die for our religious freedom.
He dies so that we might me FREE from our sins!! He suffered on a cross, not so that we could sue people for violating our "rights" but because He loved us! He set the ultimate example of "Walking in Love" as His walk took Him right to the cross!!
Jesus taught us Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also.
If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
He also taught us: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
I don't see anywhere in these Scriptures where Jesus told us to sue people or even spoke of our "rights". If fact if you look at them closely, it seems that Jesus is telling us to put others before ourselves!
Paul tells us: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
IF there was any human being on the Earth after Christ that had their rights violated it was Paul! Just read over his letters to the churches of his day, how many times he mentions his sufferings, some of these letters were written whilst he was in jail!
Paul tells us this: I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face.
To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!
What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.
I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.
Frankly if Paul had a "My Rights" attitude it just might be possible that none of us would be enjoying the rights we think that we deserve. Yet through all of this Paul knew what Love was and knew how to walk in love despite his circumstances!
Beloved we are commanded to walk in love, Love is not self seeking, boastful or proud!! And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Paul also know that nothing could separate us from God’s great love: For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[ neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL
1 Corinthians 13 (New International Version)
1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
We find here that love has a few characteristics the biggest one being that love never ends or fails. No matter where we have been or what we have done God loves us! For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
This passage from I Corinthians 13 is the basis of my belief that love is unconditional. According to this passage if I don’t have this kind of love I gain nothing, I am nothing.
I think it is hard for us to comprehend love in this light. It is difficult for us to accept that we are loved unconditionally much less love unconditionally.
But there you have it love is indeed unconditional. Before we can express this unconditional love to others we must first be able to love ourselves unconditionally and in order to do this we must understand how God loves us. Herein lies the difficulty.
In our society, we have been conditioned to equate wrong doing with unlovable, the fact the word unlovable even exists is proof of that.
I believe that NO ONE is unlovable. Consider this.. Even men such as Hitler or Saddam Hussein were loved by God.
I know!! The mind reels at such a concept! However God loved even the men who nailed His Son to a cross, who whipped Him to a bloody pulp, He loved the men and women who spat upon him on the Via Del a Rosa.
Even Christ Himself as He hung suffering on the cross loved them so much that He was thinking of them as exampled by this statement: Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Consider these passages of Scripture:
Matthew 5:43-45 (New International Version)
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies[b] and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Luke 6:31-33 (New International Version)
Do to others as you would have them do to you."If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.
Consider this also… Saul of Tarsus who by his own account imprisoned, persecuted and voted for the execution of many Christians in his time. (Paul: “Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.)
{Saul was to the Christians what Hitler was to the Jews}
Saul, a terrorist in his own right, had an encounter of the Divine Kind on the road to Damascus. Why didn’t God kill him? Why didn’t God punish this evil, evil man?
Because according to I John 4:8 “God is Love” and as stated earlier Love is unconditional! So if God could love men like Saul, Hitler and Saddam HE can most certainly love you and me without condition!!!
1 John 4:10 (New International Version)
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
God loves us as we are! Despite what we have done, are doing or will do He loves us! NOTHING can ever change that! Now I know that sin... for Christians, it's a big deal. For some it is a focal point, if not the foundation, of their beliefs.
A lot of time and energy is invested in a focus on how wretched, despicable and unworthy we are. It seems that some cannot get over the fact that we were born into sin and feel that we must constantly remind ourselves of how vile we are.
I am reminded of a fictional character that spent his youth doing vile and evil things. Just hearing his name struck fear in the hearts of the bravest people. Then one day he had a life changing experience and spent the rest of his life in "atonement" attempting to right the wrongs and to redeem himself.
I cannot help but wonder if some folks have the same mindset which serves to fuel their self-hatred and loathing. Not only does it lead to self recrimination but seems to compel them to vehemently point out how evil and vile we all are with a promise that God's wrath will reign down upon us. What troubles me is that they are not talking to those not of the Christian faith, but those of the Christian Faith!
NO LONGER SINNERS
To a Christian way of thinking we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Most of us believe that sin entered the world through one man, namely Adam (Romans 5:12).
We believe that in order to be saved from sin we must confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord. We are told that if we make this confession that we will not perish but shall have ever lasting life (John 3:16, 2 Timothy 1:8-10).
A Sinner Saved by Grace!
I hear and see that declaration a lot. And to a point it is true, we are saved by Grace, no good work or deed could ever earn us God's Grace and Mercy (Ephesians 2:6-9).
However that is what Grace is all about unmerited favor from God due to His great Love for us. Grace is perpetual & timeless (2 Timothy 1:9), it cannot not be depleted nor can we turn it off or do anything to "fall from Grace".
Yes, once I was a sinner, a wretched, vile man full of hate, anger and bitterness. But I am no longer that man, I confessed that Jesus is Lord and I believe that in my heart thus I am no longer a sinner but a Child of God, one whom he loves!!
Adopted!
Sin is the orphanage, Salvation the Adoption contract, and God the adopter. Through Christ we have entered into sonship with the Father.
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Rom. 8:15, Ephesians 2 His Grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)!
N0 longer do we have to view ourselves as wretched!
We are His sons and daughters, His love for us blots out our transgression and covers a multitude of Sins! If Grace were an ocean we would all be drowning!!
Our Mission
As adopted sons and daughters of God we have a mission. Paul said it best in Acts 20:24: I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the Gospel (GOOD NEWS) of God's GRACE.
We have good news to share! How can we share this good news if we are always declaring how wretched and horrible we are? That was the old person; we have put on the new person (Ephesians 4:21-24)!
We need to be living testimonies of God's Grace; we need to live as if we are saved! We have cause for joy, happiness and peace! We need to stop focusing on what we once were and focus on what we are now. Sons and Daughters of the Most High God!
Pressing on Toward the Goal
Philippians 3:10-16 (New International Version)
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Beloved, because of His unconditional love for us we have attained Grace and Mercy through our faith in Jesus Christ, so let us act like it! We belong to Him; we have been adopted and are no longer sinners!
If you are the type to go around declaring you are a sinner saved by grace out of some misguided sense of piety then stop it! Nothing grieves the Holy Spirit more than for us to infer (by that declaration) that Christ’s sacrifice was in vain!
Sometime in your life you heard God’s Word and your Faith was built up and believing in your heart you confessed with your mouth that Christ is Lord. Some wonderful things happened:
1.Your sin was blotted out, wiped away. (Acts 3:19)
2.He took residence in you and you in Him. (1 John 4:15)
3.You were adopted and became a joint Heir with Christ (Romans)
4.You were reborn, born anew into hope into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.(1 Peter 1)
5.He has put away your sin once and for all – He does not remember them! (Hebrews 9:26 & 10:17)
6. You have been made Holy, by His sacrifice, for ALL time. (Hebrews 10:10)
So while the statement, “I am a sinner saved by Grace” sounds nice and humble it is not
accurate!
What you are is redeemed (Gal 4:5-7)!
Therefore …
Psalm 107
1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. 2 LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
So while the statement, “I am a sinner saved by Grace” sounds nice and humble it is not
accurate! What you are is redeemed (Gal 4:5-7)! Therefore …
Psalm 107
1 O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever. 2 LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
SERVING THE ONE
There is high value in the one.
There is a saying “The Needs of the Many Outweigh the Needs of the Few or the One” You may recognize this quote from Star Trek’s Spock He said it in STAR TREK: THE WRAITH OF KHAN” For a long time I believed this to be the only way to think about the value of people and logically I suppose it has some truth to it.
In the day of Mega-churches, TV Churches and Internet Churches it certainly seems to be the way Pastors and other Christian think. There is a strong desire to reach the masses. I recently heard of one mega-church giving away a car to the person that brings the most people to their Easter service. Volume and quantity certainly appear to be the focus.
But what about the one? What about the individual? Whilst reaching the masses for Christ certainly is the most effective and efficient way to minister there is value in the one.
Matthew 18:11-14
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of mye Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
Does he not go in search of the ONE that went astray? A worthy question, one that deserves an answer. In this parable, not only did the Shepard leave the 99 but when he found the ONE he rejoiced even more so than over the 99 that never left! The ONE has value! As Pastors (Shepherds) we should never lose sight of this great truth! Yet so many times when the few oe the one leave our churches we simply take comfort that we still have the “Ninety and Nine” and all too often ignore the few or the one that left.
As Shepherds we should have the “mind of Christ” and see the few or one as he does!
Luke 12: 6 & 7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Psalms 139:13-16
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.aWonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
As cHRISTIANS we should strive to be like Christ, The Great Shepherd who placed great value on the few or the one. In ministering to the flock let’s not forget that there are times when the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many!
SERVING IN SMALL WAYS
Small things have value too!
Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose.
Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had.
Yes Paul goes on to describe the mind of Christ, however I want to direct your attention to a couple of passages in the Gosples that I feel shows the mind of Christ toward us.
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn, YET GOD FEEDS THEM. How much more valuable are you than the birds!Luke 12
Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, YET YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER FEEDS THEM. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? Matt. 6
I Corinthians 13 1-3)
Typically when we read these scriptures we think in terms of not worrying or being worried, However I would like to point out that our God is mindful of the small things of this world, the birds! They are taken care of because the mind of Christ is such that he looks after the things that seem small and insignificant.
Serving others does not also require a grand gesture, we may not have $5000 to donate but we may have a nickel to give to someone who needs it. Yes its may seem like a small thing to us but to that person it has a huge impact! How often do we overlook opportunities to minister to each other because we feel what they need is too small to merit our time and attention?
Jesus made this statement in Luke 16:10a HE WHO IS FAITHFUL IN WHAT IS LEAST IS FAITHFUL ALSO IN MUCH; In other words if we are careful to give our time and attention to the small things then we will be found to be dedicated to the big things also!
Beloved, Let us each have this same mindset! IN this day of Social Media it is so very easy to demonstrate the mind of Christ!
Perhaps it is in clicking the Like button, or Share/Re-tweeting a post or status message, perhaps it is taking 15 minutes to read a blog or 30 minutes to listen to a Radio broadcast or attend an online bible study, to you it may seem so unimportant yet to the person behind these things it important!
Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.
In this we truly have the mind of Christ!
IF love is our highest goal then serving others should be our highest calling. In just about every letter that Paul wrote he encouraged the churches to love each other and to put others ahead of themselves.
It seems that Paul would face the same challenge today – encouraging us to love and serve each other.
Beloved we do not have to wait until a catastrophe happens to serve each other, we can serve each other every day in small ways.
Remember what may seem small and insignificant to you and I may be extremely important to someone else
Beloved allow me to remind you that without Love we have nothing and we are nothing!
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Furthermore if we do not love then we do not know God!
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4:7-8)
Seems to me the Bible holds serving each other through love in nigh esteems and considers is vital to a healthy relationship with God, because if we are not walking in Love and serving others in love then we do not know God.
However when we have Love we have the fullness of God in our inner man and receive strength to comprehend the riches of His love.
Paul’s Prayer:
14 for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 1: 14 -21)
So I end with this: Philippians 2
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
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