Have I truly served God? How? In what?
The purpose of this study is to lead us to question the real meaning of serving God, and to drive us throughout it to do a self-assessment of how we have been in the Work of the Lord Jesus.
It is not just that.
Serving God for many has been considered as simply being part of a religion, attending the congregation, attending worship, singing, preaching etc. and then going home feeling that the duty is fulfilled, not taking into account the need to actually commit to the cause of the gospel, whose purpose is to bring the good news, to announce the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to those outside the congregation, far from salvation.
What is religion.
"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: To visit orphans and widows in their afflictions, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. James 1:27"
Serving does not focus on "being seen", but on the "service" rendered to God, in His Work.
The meaning of the word serve has been confused by many, since the vast majority relate it to "being seen" and not to "service".
Serving God has no relation whatsoever with being noticed, being the highlight, being the center of attention, but its real meaning is: "to be a servant of", "to be in service of", "to work for", in short something that demands effort from oneself.
Against the truth.
We see for example in various congregations, the existence of disputes for positions, most denominations going against the truth, regardless of size. Some even use positions as bargaining chips, to "trap", "hold" their members, as many are those who want to be declared as Pastor, Evangelist, Deacon, Doorkeeper, Musician, responsible for this or that, in short, any position that makes them feel useful.
In the service of God.
Obviously there is no problem in wanting to act, that is to work in any position whatsoever, however we know that many do not aspire to exercise the work of ministry, but rather to be venerated for being in the position of "position A or position B", which is very different from being committed to the designated ministry.
One thing is to be a Pastor in fact, because in this case he will feed the sheep, watch over them, as it says in Hebrews 13:17.
Another thing is to desire only the pulpit, wanting to be seen, noticed, etc., without actually caring how the sheep are outside the four walls, what their needs are, how they behave, if they are in obedience to the Word of God, that is, if they will actually be saved.
The same applies to the Evangelist ministry, as it demands much effort to execute the work involved.
The meaning of the word evangelist refers to those who do the work of evangelization, that is, announcers of good news as it says in Isaiah 52:7: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!". From these words we perceive the seriousness of the ministry, and it is impossible to exercise it without, for example, going from house to house, visiting hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, restoration houses, etc.
Serving God demands commitment, effort, work, in order to honor, exalt, glorify Him and not oneself.
We can observe that every ministry will demand effort, and the quality of the work will depend on the amount of effort employed in it, which consequently will influence the results.
Let us see below many examples of servants of God who exercised their ministries with great vigor and self-denial, that is without any expectation of personal return, renouncing themselves, which makes it possible even today for many to be reached by their deeds, just as we were also.
Noah being called for a difficult work that lasted one hundred years.
"Then God said to Noah: The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; ..." Genesis 6:13,14
Abraham was given a challenge, an effort, which blesses us even today, and has blessed many.
Now the LORD said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1
Moses is called for a work, a difficult mission.
Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10
Jesus calling his disciples to work.
And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen; And He said to them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. Then they immediately left their nets and followed Him. Matthew 4:18-20
Paul draws the attention of the Corinthian brothers to perseverance in work for the work of the Lord.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Paul urges Timothy that he strive, that he insist on preaching the Gospel of the Lord Jesus at all times.
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:1-4
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching; But you, be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:1,2,5
Jesus leaves no doubt as to why He called us to His word.
Thus He said: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:12-15"
The efforts of Peter, Paul, John and so many others were not mentioned here, who did not live for themselves, but gave up their lives so that the Name of Jesus would be glorified.
Reflection:
Given the truths presented, the following questions remain:
Am I truly a servant of God?
How have I served?
What service have I rendered to my Lord?
If He is my Lord, why so many questions?
Do I understand what it means to be a servant?
Conclusion:
Verse 15 of John 15 tells us "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
The text above did not free us from having to work, that is, we are not exempt from serving, because the Lord calls us friends, in truth the revelation that the Lord Jesus has given us is so that we serve Him better, with more quality, more diligence, because in verse 14 of the same chapter, Our Lord said: "You are my friends if you do what I command.".
In light of this affirmation we can assure that the transparency of Our Lord towards us is so that we serve Him better, obeying Him and working in His Work, in short, doing what He commands us.
May God bless each one, and may we be transformed by the renewal of our minds, Romans 12:2