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PURPOSE #4: You Were Shaped for Serving God

Service is Not an Option

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

Question to Consider:
What is holding me back from accepting God’s call to serve him?
This question is a hard one – no matter what I write here, it will be a trivial excuse. I guess that’s the purpose: to honestly examine our excuses. If we really think about, there is no limit to what we could be doing to serve. If we have extra time to watch television or read a book; we have time to do something for God.

I know I have not exhausted my efforts in serving God. Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in a rut, my week passes predictably, Tuesday, I teach Youth Bible Study, Wednesday I attend Adult Bible Study, every third Saturday, Women’s Book Club, Sunday Church, add Monday, Thursday, Friday and repeat. Some members of my family think I spend too much time at church because they don’t see the real value in it. But sometimes, for a different reason, I question my time spent at church, because I wonder, what am I really doing to make a difference? On the days in between the duties of motherhood, wifehood, and general familyhood, keep me entangled in blur of obligations and activities – I often feel like I fail in my duties to do all I can for Christ.

But Pastor Warren suggests that we serve others in practical ways. If this is the case, then that means I serve God when I drive my mother to the grocery store, spend quality time with my daughter, help my sister with her hair, fix my husband’s plate, do a favor for a friend…I could keep going. While there’s always room for improvement, maybe if when someone asks us to do something, we think of it as if we’re doing it for God, maybe some of that reluctance would leave us. The small things we do for others aren’t insignificant and unimportant – they are how we ’show’ God that we love him by letting him work through us. Everyone’s assignment is different, of course, but no matter what it is we can’t let anything keep us from it.

Important Quotes:
“You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back. This is God’s fourth purpose for your life, and it is called your ‘ministry,’ or service.” (Warren, 227)

“Whenever you serve others in any way, you are actually serving God and fulfilling one of your purposes.” (Warren, 228)

“We don’t serve God out of guilt or fear or even duty, but out of joy, and deep gratitude for what he’s done for us. We owe him our lives.” (Warren, 228)

“If I have no love for others, no desire to serve others, and I’m only concerned about my needs, I should question whether Christ is really in my life. A saved heart is one that wants to serve.” (Warren, 228)

“Another term for serving God that’s misunderstood by most people is the word ministry. When most people hear ‘ministry,’ they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy, but God says every member of his family is a minister. In the Bible, the words servant and minister are synonyms, as are service and ministry. If you are a Christian, you are a minister, and when you’re serving, you’re ministering.” (Warren, 228-9)

“Regardless of your job or career, you are called to full-time Christian service. A ‘non-serving Christian’ is a contradiction of terms.” (Warren, 229)

“Anytime you use your God-given abilities to help others, you are fulfilling your calling.” (Warren, 229)

“For Christians, service is not optional, something to be tacked onto our schedules if we can spare the time. It is the heart of the Christian life. Jesus came ‘to serve’ and ‘to give’ – those two verbs should define your life on earth, too. Serving and giving sum up God’s fourth purpose for your life.” (Warren, 230-1)

“We are only fully alive when we are helping others…If you aren’t serving, you’re just existing, because life is meant for ministry. God wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.” (Warren, 232)

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