Live to Serve
Serving others is nourishment for the soul! In Greek, the word for service is “diakonia,” where we get “deacon.” The word is used over and over again throughout the New Testament. In fact, at the Last Supper when Jesus is giving his disciples instructions for how to live when he is gone, he asks “who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?” He answers, “I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27). Jesus clearly prioritizes our service to others over our presence at the table. In a sense, Jesus is calling us all to be deacons or servants.
According to Jesus, it’s not enough to just sit at the table. To be Christ-followers, we must be servants. It’s important to remember that the Church does not exist to serve church-goers. The Church exits to serve the poor and less fortunate. Jesus calls us to make disciples, not church-goers. And despite what you may have heard, we are not even called to make believers. Jesus calls us to make disciples. How do we make disciples? Through service.
People often ask me about how the Church plans to attract new people. I usually respond, “we’re not trying to attract people, we are trying to attract God.” It’s God that will fill the pews. Our job is to serve. God shows up when we serve. The best evangelistic strategy possible is practicing what we preach. This is why I have been so energized by Lamb of God folks bringing items to Worship that help our mission partners meet the needs of the less fortunate in our community. Worship and serving were never meant to be detached. When we see hungry people, we feed them. When people are being bullied, we standup for them. When someone is grieving, we sit beside them. When we meet the needs of God’s people, we are being Christ at work in the world.
Through my observation of Christianity in recent decades, we have over spiritualized our mission so that we do not have to put in the work of serving people. In some cases, we have even convinced ourselves that helping people just prolongs the suffering and does not actually help. Too often, we blame the poor so that we don’t have to help them. We demonize those who are different so that we don’t have to associate with them. We criminalize the addicted so that we don’t have to solve the problem. Jesus is calling us serve exactly the people that we may not want to serve. God’s mandate to serve people is intentionally challenging. If serving others came easily, then we wouldn’t be doing it right.
The world tells us that it is better to be served, but Jesus compels us to turn that on its head, and to be the ones who serve. Ask yourself, “who in society is being excluded and who is less fortunate?” That is exactly who we are called to include and serve. It is through loving relationship and service of others that we perpetuate the light of Christ. Thank for being deacons. Thank you for being servants. God is on the move; I can feel it. God is calling us to live a life built around serving, loving, and celebrating all people.
A pleasure serving beside you,
Pastor Lucas
Photo by Rod Long