The Greatest Act of Service

UV 3533/10000  The Greatest Act of Service

Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many ( paying the price to set them free from the penalty of sin)”

 

Matthew 20 v 28

 

                      Jesus, though Son of God, preferred to call Himself  Son of Man as He came to serve mankind by being a sacrifice to absolve all who believe in this sacrifice from the penalty of sin or separation and rebellion against God.    Jesus exhorts us who believe in Him to also follow His example in lowering ourselves, humbling ourselves to serve others, to make sacrifices of our time, energy, talent and treasure to meet the needs of others.  The one who serves the most is the greatest is the new credo that Jesus inaugurated while till them the belief that the one who had most servants is the greatest.  

 

                      The human ego is the greatest barrier to unselfish service.  Jesus is the greatest example and model for us to follow to lay aside all pride, ego, selfishness and serve humanity without any reservation or ulterior motive.  Humanity was in the captivity of the enemy.   Jesus came to rescue us.  The only way it could be done without compromising the standards of holiness of God was to lay down His own life as the sacrifice or penalty. He did not withhold anything from humanity. During His earthly sojourn He served all without distinction by healing them of all types of sicknesses, delivering, forgiving, teaching the precepts of the Kingdom of God.   Arrested on false charges, He did not defend Himself but submitted meekly and without resistance to a cruel sentence of death on the cross.  The absolute was sacrificed once and for all for the absolute sin of all.  The one exception among all of humanity became the perfect sacrifice for the imperfections of mankind.  Nothing more needed to be done to enable us individually to live forever. 

 

                   We are now called to serve others not to earn the favour of God or to earn our salvation but in order to show our gratitude to Jesus for His greatest act of service and love for mankind.  Our internal qualities and our external acts of service are needed to show others plainly that we are followers of Jesus.  We are to go the extra mile to help others, to comfort others, to pray for others in need even as Jesus left eternity for our sakes.   We are not to ask “What is in it for me?” but “What can I do for others?” ,  “How can I benefit people God has placed in our lives?”, “How can I make myself of more use to more and more people?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bearing Fruit Is Not Optional

 

UV 3532/10000 Bearing Fruit IS Not Optional

 

And if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.

 

Luke 13 v 9

 

                    Bearing fruit for a fruit tree is not optional.  The fruit tree by definition must bear fruit.  Likewise, we who believe in Christ are fruit trees.  Bearing a  variety of fruit for the glory or satisfaction of the Lord is mandatory, not optional.  There are two kinds of fruit- internal and external fruit.  Internal fruit are our attitudes and qualities like love, joy, peace, patience..  The external fruit are our good deeds done out of trust and faith in God.  If we do not multiply both these types of fruit, we are in danger of being cut down for wood or firewood.  God examines us every day for the fruit we bear.   He is patient like a farmer and waits for three years and orders our cutting in the fourth.

 

 

                 Being loving, joyful, hopeful, patient and kind are not options but it is inherently expected of us as believers and followers of Christ.  When a tree does not produce enough fruit, the farmer checks if there is enough manure or fertilizer in the soil around the tree.  Likewise, we need to examine ourselves to check  if there is enough encouragement for us to produce the internal as well as external fruit in our lives.  The Word is itself a good fertilizer for our minds and spirits to conceive good fruit.  The Lord waters us day and night as we meditate on the Word and not give much room for our own mundane thoughts to crowd out the profound thoughts of God.

 

 

               The sap or the spiritually anointed power of the Holy Spirit rises in the different branches of our lives to enable us to bear abundant fruit.  The Lord has invested a lot in each of us and hence, we should focus on bearing fruits in abundance for the Lord.  The internal fruit and the external fruit are interconnected and interrelated.  Love should lead us to forgive more. Patience should lead us to listen more.  Gentleness should lead us to offend less.  Kindness should prompt us to give more.  Wisdom should cause us to ponder more.  Discipline should lead us to focus more. Without the internal fruit, our external fruit are tasteless and empty.

Giving Up A Limb or Eye In Order Not to Fall

UV 3531/10000            Giving Up A Limb or an Eye in Order Not to Fall

 

If your eye causes you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you ( that is, remove yourself from the source of temptation); it is better for you to enter life with only one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fiery hell.

 

Matthew 18 v 9

 

 

                         Jesus was teaching His disciples when He said that “Stumbling blocks will come..”      But if the stumbling blocks come due to our own limbs or eyes or any other cause in our lives, we need to be ruthless in plucking out the cause of sin and temptation in our lives.  If we lose a limb or an eye, we are more liable to fall physically but the Word is saying that a spiritual fall is far more disastrous and harmful for eternity than a mere physical fall.  We should value our  spiritual wholeness, completeness in Christ, our righteousness in Him above any of our organs, even our limbs or eyes.  If we do so, we would be able to avoid the stumbling blocks that lust or lack of self control or pride bring into our lives. 

 

                          The Lord has called us, who are undeserving of being invited to the banquet feast of the Lamb’ s marriage or joining with His body of believers.  We should at least be careful how we present ourselves before Him, how appropriately dressed we are before Him.  We cannot go before a great King in rags.   The appropriate clothing the Lord exhorts us to wear are acts of righteousness and a character of integrity.  We need to find a way to turn our stumbling blocks into building blocks, our weaknesses into strengths.  The Holy Spirit is always waiting and ready to equip, build or edify and empower us in the image of Christ.

                         Of course, Jesus, compassionate and gentle as He is, would not literally ask us to severe our own limbs or gouge out our own eyes in order to avoid sin and temptation.  But it is  a figure of speech He used to drive home the importance of believers living a testimonial lives or lives that are enough evidence for Christ having saved us.    Our reverence for God and measuring our lives against His image and the plumb line of His word should be so deep, so great that we would not even inadvertently trespass against His holiness or take His goodness for granted or casually.  A man would think a million times if he knew for sure he would lose a limb or an eye for doing a particular thing. Likewise, we should be thoughtful and careful how we lead our lives.  How we lead our lives Is the essence of our leadership of others.