People in ministry soon come to learn that serving others, ministering to others needs can be a thankless calling. In my own life God began to teach me early on the correct position of the heart. Pride runs like a ribbon through my family as it does in others. From infancy we are taught to thrill to the sound of applause for imitating what we see or hear and we do it for the recognition and treats we receive.
We even teach our animals to perform well to receive goodies. So what a difficult lesson it is to learn to do unto others without expectation of anything in return. Harder still is to watch someone else receive recogntion for something WE have done. How sour the medicine when we see verbal parties thrown for others whose work ethic is less than ours while we get lost in the shuffle. What are we supposed to learn from such a sting?
The teaching moment comes when we must ask ourselves....why do I do what I do? Do I do it for recognition? Do I do it for glory? As a Christian leader....my answer comes back as “I do what I do because I love people.” God has called me to love his sheep – love his people. In loving others....in being Gods heart, his hands, his feet, his voice, I am given the awe inspiring privelege of loving others in bodiment as Christ, for no other reasons than to give myself wholly to God.
Dont get me wrong. I am human. I do have moments when I thrill to the sound of applause; when I sigh heavily as I feel as though life is nothing but giving and it would be nice to receive. But the truth rushes in and I come back to center with the gentle push from God with this question....”Why do you do what you do? If you knew you would get no recognition, no honor, no pay, would you still do this?” Emphatically my answer has always been a resounding yes! Lord! Yes!
When
the Son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with Him, he
will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered
before him. He will separate the people one from another. As the
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep
on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to
the ones on his right “Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
creation of the world. For I was hungry and thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed
clothese and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I
was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will
answer him, “Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or
thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothese and clothe you? When
did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will
reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least
of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:31-40
You may wonder...how can I serve others, how can I love others as Jesus did?
Each of us has unique talents and gifts that we can use to bless the lives of others. All around us are those in need of something. Put the two together. If you love to cook, cook for others. If you are artistic, create for others. If you have time, give your time. We all have something we can give.
copyright
Dori Albright-Cass 3-22-13
No comments:
Post a Comment