Service
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May 09, 2010 |
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 "For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—was not yes and no, but is yes in Him." (2 Corinthians 1:19)
While He was on this earth, Jesus showed the example of service to the human beings. He showed us the greatest service of giving out His life by dying on the cross for human beings (Philippians 2:5-8). He is one with God in origin, but He humbled Himself with only Yes and Amen; He gave His everything to us. Now, what do we have to do to accomplish true service like that of Jesus?
First, the service of Jesus was of love.
People try their best to serve those whom they love. They willingly accept sufferings for their beloved ones. They don't say it is difficult or painful and they don't think about whether it is beneficial for them or not. Jesus loved us human beings so much that He always served others first before taking care of Himself. He did not consider them lowly or neglect them just because they were creatures. Jesus didn't have time to eat or to lie down and have a sound sleep, but He never turned His face away from those who came to Him. He poured all His energy to solve their problems and to guide them to better Heavenly dwelling places. He treated His disciples in the same way. He always served them first, and He served until the end, even the one who was going to betray Him.
He did not just love and serve only those who loved Him. He loved everyone without prejudice or favoritism. He loved each soul with a true heart. He embraced their hearts with service. The disciples could understand Jesus' true love and service from their hearts only at a later time, after they received the Holy Spirit. Then they also went out to the world and showed the similar kind of service. I hope you will also be able to provide others with true service, with your true love for them.
Secondly, the service of Jesus was selfless service.
Jesus is one with God the Creator in origin, and the Master of all creatures. And yet, even while He was receiving many pains, mockeries and sufferings, He only had compassion on those people. He didn't think, "How can they do this to Me?" but He only wanted to save them even if that meant He had to suffer so much and die. He never sought His own benefit but obeyed the will of God only. In order for us to cultivate this kind of service, we must not have our 'self'.
To have no 'self' means we don't have any pride, self-will, self-righteousness, self-seeking ambition, selfish motives, working in our own limitations and all the other things that are self-centered. For example, if we have pride, it's not easy to serve our subordinates. Or, even though we may serve others, we will only serve within the personal limitations of what we are able to do. Selfless service is to serve others from the standpoint of the other person. It is not service wanting something in return. It is service to rejoice in the act of giving. Those who serve desiring something in return will change their attitude if they do not receive what they expected.
Only when you serve others with selfless and true service can the peace be maintained, and can you accept any kind of person. Jesus accepted even those who were crucifying Him and prayed before the Father saying, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Even until the moment of His death Jesus didn't have His 'self'. Likewise, I hope your service will be true and selfless service.
Thirdly, Jesus' service was never changing.
Jesus did not turn His face away or stay away from Judas Iscariot saying, "He is going to betray Me." He was not discriminatory toward anyone thinking about whether they were at His side or not when He was taking the cross. Of course, those who loved Him more and followed Him with all their lives received greater love and greater blessings. But basically, Jesus gave the same great love to all men by dying on the cross on behalf of the sinners, and His love and service never changed.
By any chance do you tend to love and serve only those who love you? Even though you don't change your attitude first, if others seem to have been changed, wouldn't you turn your face away from them with a different attitude than before? Or, when you pay back the grace you received once, don't you think you did enough after some time?
God is delighted with an unchanging heart. When they meet God, accept the Lord, and become full of the Holy Spirit, many people say they serve God and say that they love Him. But as time passes, many people change. They may still love and serve God from their standpoint, but their first love and first deeds are no longer there. When they receive grace and blessings, they serve with their very best, but their fervor soon cools down.
In 2 Samuel chapter 23, and 1 Chronicles chapter 11 are recorded the names of those warriors who were with David. They were the ones who stayed with David all the time, in life-threatening situations and so many trials. It's not that they followed and served David only when it was beneficial for them; they served David until the end with willingness to die with him. That is why God could put their names in the Bible and for their names to be passed down throughout the generations. I hope you will cultivate true service having unchanging attitude not just before God but also towards other people.
For additional information or to read the message's text in its entirety, please visit Manmin Central Church on the web at www. manmin. org, select the "English" menu, and click on "Words of Life."
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