Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.Ephesians 6:7-8
You will be hard-pressed finding someone who will do something for nothing. People say things like, "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." "If you hook me up with this deal, I will hook you up with that deal in the future." It's all about the payback.
God's economy doesn't work that way. He doesn't want us to give just to get; he doesn't want us to serve just because of what we'll receive in return.
Serving is all about placing other people's needs before your own. And when we do that humbly and with a pure heart, it allows God to work through you in the lives of others in a supernatural way.
Serving selflessly is not easy. Each time we serve, there is the internal conflict waging within us. God will not force us to serve His way. We have to make that choice on our own. But if you choose to serve as God has designed, he will reward you in ways that exceed your imagination.
This has been my discovery the past ten years in leading the church to serve the community. We served expecting nothing from them except that they turn to the Lord. But what has been amazing is that the Lord has rewarded those have remained faithful in unusual ways.
Tomorrow is Gift To The King Sunday and all this week I have been reflecting on how amazing God is in blessing us when we obey Him outside of ourselves by serving others selflessly!
A Prayer for Today
Lord, give me a servant's heart. It's easy for me to focus on my own needs, but I know you have placed people in my life who have needs that I can meet. Help me to place others' needs before my own as I strive to live the life that Jesus modeled for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
