Week 11: Serve One Another, Part 2

Last week's assignment was Galatians 5:13b---"serve one another in love."

A commitment to God requires a commitment to a local church, which in turn requires active involvement in the lives of people in the church. "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." Romans 12:4-5. My wife and I are blessed to belong to City Lights in St. Louis where a Biblical view of the church is taught and facilitated through an active small group ministry.

I didn't do anything extraordinary this week. I helped some dear friends move to a new home. I led our normal small group meting on Thursday night. My wife and I capped off the week by traveling to Bloomington, Illinois to serve at a conference at Clear View Church (which is in our small network of churches). At the conference, we had several opportunities to pray for people, and I was able to help move some tables and chairs between sessions.

What I hope to take away from this last week is a different perspective about serving. I might have ordinarily grumbled a bit (inwardly, if not outwardly) about giving a few hours to help somebody move or a couple days to help with a church conference. The truth is I love people in my church, but sometimes I love my comfort and solitude more. Last week, however, I was eagerly desiring opportunities to serve others in order to fulfill my "assignment" for the week. In the process, I discovered that the joy of serving was increased when I set about the serving actually wanting to be used by God. I didn't feel that service was an inconvenience but rather a blessing and an answer to prayer. Isn't that exactly what my attitude always should be? Shouldn't we always be eager to be used by God to help His people? My prayer is that by God's grace I will keep that attitude about serving for the rest of my life.