12/9/2013
SERVING IN LOVE![]() I (Lindsey) have been listening to KLOVE a lot lately. There have been some really great new songs out that talk all about how we are serving Christ with the day to day. We are serving him every time we serve another in love, His love. The other day, while on the way to work a woman called in and asked the hosts of the KLOVE morning show is it really true, is it biblical, that everything we do in the name of Jesus is just as important as bringing someone to Christ? In their answer they brought into the conversation the verses 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” Their point, that anything done in love is important, and anything done without love is meaningless. That understanding was such a revelation to this woman, and quite honestly it is probably quite the revelation to most Christians. We get so caught up in soul saving, that we often forget that God is the one who can change hearts, all we can do is to serve others with His love. Today a dear friend posted a verse that I did not recall reading though I’m sure I have hundreds of times. The books of Timothy are two of my favorites in the bible so I am sure that I’ve seen it. Maybe it was just a matter of timing. God has been placing this in my life in different ways lately, and now I was ready to really comprehend this verse. 1 Timothy 5:8 “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” How many times do I look at serving the family under my own roof, who are some of the people that I love most, as a chore, or something less important than serving the church, or the community, or a stranger. All of those things are very important as well, but they are no more important than serving our families. Not only serving them though, serving them with Christ’s love. The thousands of meals I serve to my family every year are worthless if they aren’t served with love. The countless lessons that I teach my children are meaningless without love. The sacrificial way in which I provide for my family’s needs while putting my own on the back burn it means nothing without love. I have gained nothing, and my family has gained nothing if I have not served them with the love of Christ. We are called not only to serve, but to serve with love. We are called to not just serve other more important people with more visible and praise worthy jobs, we are called to serve the family under our own roof. We are called to serve, in love, the people who often don’t even think twice about what we do for them and if we choose not to 1 Timothy tells us that we are worse than an unbeliever. Talk about a humility check. God wants us to lovingly do the tasks that no one notices, that no one sees. He wants us to serve the people who don’t say thank you most of the time. God wants us to serve even if we will never get a pat on the back, or a thank you and he wants us to do it with a pleasant and loving Godly spirit. I don’t know about you, but I don’t often get the pleasant and loving spirit down. My family isn’t neglected, but I often desire the compliments and praise that come from doing for those outside my family. I often have a bad attitude when I don’t get the help I feel I deserve, and very often I act in unloving manner towards the people that I love. Today I feel convicted, that I must learn to serve my family with love even when its not convenient, even when small children seem ungrateful or exceptionally destructive. Even when my husband isn’t serving me in a loving way. Even when I would get more praise from other areas of service. I have been called to serve my family in love and its time I start taking that job just as seriously as all the other ones I have. Father God, give a spirit of love and service towards my family. Help me to see them not as a burden or another chore, instead help me to see them as you do. Let me realize that they are a beautiful mission field. A way to reach the world with your love by sending them out of my home always filled to the brim with it. Lord let me love them fully, completely, fully, ever single day of my life. In your precious name Jesus, Amen. |
This space is reserved for Founder Mandy's perspectives and viewpoints of Scripture. Man is fallible, but God is not. It's strongly encouraged that you study the Scripture for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your understanding.
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