For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to
serve others and to give His life as a ransom for many.
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| Mother Teresa lived to serve others. |
One of
my favorite places is the Dream Center in
Los Angeles. I’ve spent the last day
and half soaking in more of the vision and outreach of this place and how God
is using it to serve the people of the Los Angeles area and far beyond. I’d like to share some thoughts that have
come out of conversations on this trip.
For a
long time I have believed that we will find purpose in life when we begin to
serve others, and through serving God shows up in our hearts and through what
we do. The people who have influenced us
are the people who show up the most. They
are servants. So literally “who shows up
the most wins”. Want to change the
world? Then begin to show up in the
areas where you want to see change.
Jonathan Martinez leads outreach
ministries here, and he talked about maximizing what you have and what you
do. You don’t have to have lots of
resources or lots of people. You simply
have to see a need and begin to meet the need.
To
maximize is an awesome concept. Too many
people are waiting on the right time or to have more people around or for more
money so that they will begin to serve others.
That is the wrong thing to do.
The right thing is to take the time you have, the resources you have and
use them to serve others beginning now.
It begins with one person at a time.
Serving
meets the needs people have, but the reason we serve is because Jesus served
others. Because of what He has done for
us, we do for others. By serving people
we win the right to share Jesus with them.
Remember, whoever shows up the most in people’s lives will win the
battle of influence. By showing up we
will win the hearts of the people around us.
That can be, and should be, the people in our home. Serve at home. This ought to be the people at work, our
neighbors, our community and beyond.
It
bothers me greatly when church people take mission trips to serve in far off
places but never serve at home. Herb Hodges, a mentor of mine from
Memphis, said “the light that shines farthest must shine brightest at
home”. That is a simple and profound truth. Serving comes from a heart for God and a
heart for people.
Our
churches are made by God, gifted by God and placed by God to make a difference
in our communities. But we have the
tendency to allow the workings of the church to get in the way of serving
people. That is when we focus more on
programs then people, more on money than on meeting needs of hurting
people. We must be careful not to build
systems and programs that simply prolong or build the mechanism known as the
church. Everything the church does
should be about building people and plugging people into God.
Serving
will win our communities. Serving will
change our hearts and then will change others.
It is time that we maximize what God has given us and the time we have.
Thoughts
on being a servant from Pastor Tommy
Barnett:
-- find a need and fill it. A servant does that and is successful.
-- Want to work
at the church? Find a need there and fill it. Don't ask for a job. Meet the
need. You'll get hired.
-- There is somebody who needs you.
Someone needs to be loved. There are so many hurts in this world. Find a need
& fill it.
-- “Everyday of my life I make serving
God the business of my day” - quoting Florence Nightingale.
-- Jesus never concerned himself with a
title but sought to be a servant
-- Servants are remembered. Not titles.
-- If I take care of the moment, the
other times will take care of itself. Live in the will of God now.
-- Don't quit. You'll be great if you
stay. Keep meeting needs. Great men are ordinary men that won't quit.
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each
other; let us show the truth by our actions.
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