01.23. Chapter 3 Serving God
Chapter 3 Serving God A privileged relationship When people come into the kingdom of God, they become subjects of their new King, servants of their new Lord. To present-day people, for whom human dignity and freedom are important issues, this may at first sound harsh and unattractive, especially when we remember that servants in the first century were more likely slaves. No illustration can properly picture the relationship between God and his people. The Bible uses many word-pictures, parables and examples to deal with various aspects of the Christian life, but they are all inadequate and they are all independent of each other. In speaking of Christians in their responsibilities to God, the Bible uses such widely differing illustrations as children, servants, friends, ambassadors, soldiers, witnesses, farmers, builders and athletes.
Jesus was well aware that each illustration could help explain one point, but could lead to misunderstanding if applied to another. For example, he frequently used the illustration of servants, and he demanded from his disciples the faithfulness of servants to their master. But in another setting he said, ‘I do not call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead I call you friends’ (John 15:15). No picture by itself can tell the full story. Christ’s servants are also his friends. Allegiance to him leads to freedom; service for him is a privilege.
However, there is no place for pride in Christian service. Jesus showed this when he, the master, washed his servants’ feet. He was the perfect servant of God, and he showed that serving God means also serving one’s fellow human beings. God gives honour only to those who have first learnt to serve.
Something all can do As their new life develops, Christians may give evidence that God is preparing them to serve him in specific ways. Such service may lie in the future, but in the meantime they should not sit idle waiting to receive some special message from God. There are some things that all Christians should do, regardless of any special abilities they might have. An obvious way that all Christians can serve God is through prayer. They can do this privately or by joining with like-minded friends. In this service their prayers go beyond their personal needs to the needs of others. They can pray for those who are sad, lonely, suffering, hungry, poor, distressed or persecuted. Likewise they can pray for those who govern nations, administer justice, direct welfare and provide education. In fact, the list of things to pray for is endless. In particular, Christians should be concerned for the spiritual needs of the world, and the Bible gives them many things to pray for. They are to pray that God will send his servants everywhere with the good news of salvation, that he will guide and protect those servants, and that he will make their work fruitful. They are to pray for churches and individuals, that God’s people might know him better, be strengthened by his power, have unity among themselves, increase in love, develop wisdom and endure hardship. They are to pray both for those who are known personally to them and for those who are not. The more facts people have, the more intelligently they will pray. Christians should therefore find out all they can about Christian work, and perhaps keep a notebook where they can write down things to pray for. One of the greatest of all Christian workers, Paul, once said to a group of Christians, ‘You help us by means of your prayers for us’ (2 Corinthians 1:11).
Representatives for Christ
People who become united with Christ soon develop attitudes and behaviour that make them different from people in general. But they should not be different in a merely negative sense, as if their chief concern is to disagree with or criticize others. They have a positive responsibility to be a good and wholesome influence in a society that has been corrupted by sin. More than that, they are to bring others to know Christ too, and if they are to do this they must not only live uprightly, but also tell people about the person whom they serve. The Bible speaks of Christians as Christ’s ambassadors. As an ambassador represents his country’s ruler or government in a foreign land, so Christians represent Christ in the world. Because of this they are, in some ways, different from the people among whom they live. Their standards are those of another kingdom, Christ’s. But they must not cut themselves off from the life of the society; otherwise they will not be able to present their master’s point of view to the people.
Christians need to maintain a balance, and in this Jesus Christ is their example. He mixed so freely in society that the religious purists criticized him; but he never lowered his standards or changed his beliefs to make life easier for himself.
All Christians can serve Christ by living for him. They are (according to illustrations that Christ himself gave) like a city on a hill, for they cannot be hidden, and like salt on meat, for they help prevent decay and add flavour to society. They are like lamps in a house, for they give light to those who otherwise would be in darkness. They are like witnesses in a courtroom, for they speak openly and forthrightly of what they know and have experienced.
Using what God has given As they read the Bible, Christians soon see that God is the giver of everything they have for the maintenance and enjoyment of life – life itself, the physical environment, time, possessions and natural skills. They recognize that they have no absolute right to these things. They have them on trust from God, and they are answerable to God for the way they use them.
Christians have a responsibility to use their time, money and abilities to help others, and in so doing they serve God. This will often involve sacrifice; in fact, only when it is a sacrifice does it have value in God’s sight. There is little merit if people give away only what they themselves do not need. God always looks at hidden motives rather than what the onlookers see. Sometimes people may give money because they genuinely want to help those in need; other times they may give money because it is easier than sacrificing their time and convenience. The motivating force in Christian giving is Jesus Christ, who gave everything to save helpless sinners. Paul referred to the example of Jesus Christ when urging Christians in Greece to contribute money to help poor Christians in Jerusalem. He encouraged each person to think carefully about the matter, and regularly to ‘put aside some money in proportion to what he has earned’. But Paul refused to specify the percentage that each person should give. That is for individual Christians to work out before God. God wants them to give, and to give generously, but not under compulsion. ‘Each one should give as he has decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly’ (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Some Christians use the whole of their working time in such tasks as making known the good news of God’s salvation, caring for churches, teaching believers and looking after church welfare programs. Christians have a responsibility to support such people financially. By giving in this way, Christians serve God them-selves and have a share in the service that others carry out on their behalf.
Christians and work
Perhaps the most constant of all Christian service is the one that is common to all Christians at all times, namely, work. This applies not just to earning money, but also to work around the house, study, volunteer welfare work and just about every other kind of worthwhile activity. ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord . . . as though you were serving Christ’ (Colossians 3:23; Ephesians 6:5-8). From the beginning, God intended people to work, so that as they learnt new skills and exercised their judgment they would mature in body and mind. But when sin entered the world, every- thing was affected. It is not work that is the result of sin, but the pain, drudgery and oppression that come from work in a world dominated by sin. Christians are people who have been restored to God, and consequently they develop a new attitude to work.
Because they are set free from sin, Christians are set free from the drudgery of work, but they are not free from work itself. They still have to work hard and can expect weariness and pain the same as anyone else, but they take a new interest and pride in whatever they do. If their aim is to please Christ, they will find satisfaction in doing all tasks well, even tasks that they normally may not like.
Jesus once said, ‘You cannot serve both God and money’ (Matthew 6:24). If Christians work only to get income, they are not serving Christ. This is true of those who take no interest in the work they are doing because they think it boring, and of those who are totally immersed in their work because they want status and prosperity. Just as trust in God is no excuse for lazy idleness, so diligence for God is no excuse for selfish ambition. Neither path leads to satisfaction. As always, Christians find true satisfaction as they work and live not for themselves, but for Christ.