Serving To Love…Loving To Serve
Romans 12:9-13 (Amplified Bible)
9[Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good.
10Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.
11Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.
12Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
13Contribute to the needs of God's people [sharing in the necessities of the saints]; pursue the practice of hospitality.
I was speaking with a friend of mine recently and we were conversing about how strange family dynamics can be. It is those who are closest to you that will hurt you the deepest, and seem to at times abandon us when we need them most. I have found that is has been hard for many that encounter me to understand the dynamics of my life. In spite of my situation that left me a less than perfect predicament in many areas of my natural life, and in material things, I have still been determined to trust God and help when I am lead to and to give more than many think that I should. What is it that is driving me, LOVE! Love first for God and then for those who God has allowed me to encounter. Love will drive us to be a servant and love those even when we don’t receive that same in return. We have an obligation to get it right that will rarely lie with individuals but instead will always lie with God the Father.
How many times have we all been in a place and God asked us stretch and do something for someone? We have all probably had this at least a few. But what about those times when God asks us to do for or sow into the life of someone who has hurt or used us? These are times when we may question is our love for God enough to sustain us through the task ahead. But the truth of the matter is that when we have the heart of God, we love people as He does, we begin to see the need and not so much the sin that may be gripping the individual. When will realize that the love we have that abides through Christ transcend a multitude of sins and transgressions. Loving God gives us an appetite to serve no matter who it is and what the circumstances. We find joy in just knowing that God loves us and is pleased by our ultimate obedience to Him..
I guess the question for us today is how much do we love God? Is it enough to get us past the pain or offense of another to do what is right by them, even when they won’t do what is right by us? Something will help is just to think if God negated to do for us when we offended him, or lacked obedience when he requested it. But God loved us enough to do the ultimate service for us by giving us His on to die in our stead. His service was love and He showed His love us through His service. If He can do this for all, why do we have such a hard time doing it for one another? Isn’t it time to get some real love in our lives, love that gives us a heart of service, and a love in doing it!
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