Serving God starts with the heart
We believe that serving God starts with being before doing, and that there is a biblical description of what serving God actually is.
1 Peter 4:7-11
“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
This passage leads us to the next one about serving God…
John 12:25-26
“Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
Biblical context opens understanding to this passage – but do not mistake this as a figurative or subjective truth. This is literal. God wants us to love our life in Him more than we love our life in this world. We can’t love this world more than we love God. If we do, we cannot give Him what He wants – He wants our whole heart.
Ephesians 4:25-32
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
This does not tell us what to do about serving God – it reveals to us who we are to be. Being must always precede doing. To become a son and a daughter of God – to be known as a man or woman of God, will never be solely about what we do, it will always be about who we are. That is the key to serving God and one another. You and I can never do enough to repay God for all He has done for us, and we will never be able to do enough to make others like, love, or to be happy with us. But make no mistake, we can absolutely become who He has called us to be in Christ Jesus.
Romans 12:10-17
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”
The Capitol One credit card commercial asks, “What’s in your wallet?” Why? Because they want you to apply for another high-interest rewards, benefits, and fees credit card. God asks us, What’s in your heart?” Why? Because He wants us to love Him with our whole heart, and then have His heart for one another. A heart capable of loving, honoring, being passionate, a heart willing and happy to serve God and others – to rejoice, and to weep with others and for others, a heart that has the capacity for being patient and showing hospitality. To have a heart kind enough to be kind and not mean and to bless and not curse. Finally, He wants us to have a heart content in Him enough to be at peace with others and not in constant conflict, a heart that is humble and not arrogant, a heart that gives to others what is good, right and righteous to others and never evil, wrong, or unrighteous. The only context needed here is a long hard look into the heart that God has given us and determine if it belongs to Him or to us. If our heart belongs to Him, now is the time to show it through serving God wholeheartedly.
Colossians 3:12-17
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
This is how we serve God and His Kingdom – this is how we serve one another while here on earth. This is how we love, and this is how we fight our battles. This is how we become the people of God, and this is who He has called us to be. So, He asks again, Reunion, “Where do you serve?”