Believe me
when I tell you that before going into the ministry, I wasn’t a very good
servant. Oh sure, I volunteered for some
things – I sang in the choir, helped at the County Fair food booth every year,
was head coach of the church softball team (won the championship and finished second
three years in a row), and did some leading during the worship service by doing
children’s messages. I always enjoyed
each of those things so it never seemed like it was hard – it was never tedious
or difficult or boring. I did some other
things which were harder – I taught seventh grade Sunday School (now that was
hard). I helped out in Vacation Bible
School (a challenge depending upon where and who I was supposed to lead). One of the most challenging things I took
part in was something called “100 Brave Christians”.
I saw the
announcement for “100 Brave Christians” in the bulletin. It said something like if you consider
yourself a brave follower of Jesus, show up on this particular night at the
church and you will have the chance to put that to the test. It sounded very intriguing.
So, I decided I was going to go. I showed up and was paired with another fellow
(Ed was his name). Turns out it was an “every
member visitation” program (which is always a challenge) with a twist. We weren’t going to the members on our list
to invite them to activity or a deeper level of financial commitment. We were going there to get to know them
better and to pray for them. That’s
it.
Ed and I went
to the people’s homes on our list and to this day, there is only one visit I
remember. It was a woman who lived on
the edge of town. Her husband was a trucker,
so he was gone a lot of the time. She
told us that she didn’t come to church very often because she didn’t like to
sit alone. She also said that when her
husband was home, he was tired and because they didn’t see much of one another,
she felt obligated to stay at home with him on the weekends instead of
attending church.
Honestly, I
was never aware of her church attendance or any level of her church commitment –
nor did I really care. I mean, that wasn’t
our focus. We were not there to make
people feel uncomfortable. Ed and I
talked with her for a while, offered a prayer and left. I don’t recall seeing her or coming across
her at church during the next few years while I was there. I went into the ministry and she and her trucker
husband were long forgotten.
When I think
of servanthood, I think of those kinds of things that you do for the kingdom of
God that make a difference, even if no one knows about it. The author of the devotion comes down hard on
humanity, I think. It’s been my experience
that there are many persons who serve selflessly, with no agenda. They give so freely of their time – over and
over and over again. Sometimes they are
the same people who wear different hats.
But they give without any thought to their own needs. And there are others who would give more of
themselves if they could, but a physical challenge or a time conflict or some other kind of obstacle is in their
way. But their desire is still to serve. The church has many who are willing to serve.
Jesus
responds to the mother of James and John by telling her and them that the
greatest among them will be those who serve others. One does need to empty themselves if she or he
truly desires to serve – that point I will grant the author. It’s true – empty yourself so you can fill
others.
I had a chance
to return to my home church and preach one Sunday about ten years after I had
left. After the service, I was shaking
hands with the people of my home church congregation. Many were wishing me
well, telling me they were glad to see our family. I’m guessing some were still amazed that I had
gone into the ministry (the ones who knew me when!).
The line was getting close to the end when a
woman came up to me and extended her hand in welcome. She said she appreciated my message. I thanked her. She said “You don’t remember me, do you?” I had to confess that she looked vaguely
familiar but no, I could not remember her name.
“You and another fellow had come to visit me a number of years ago. I hadn’t returned to church until the last
few years, but I always remember your visit. It's one of the reasons why I am here today.”
You just never
know how you are going to make an impact on someone.
But if you are without any personal agenda
and just want to greet someone, meet them on their own terms and embrace them
on their own ground, it makes a difference.
Jesus is really saying if you want to make a difference, don’t be concerned
with where you sit or if you are first.
Invite others to go before you.
Approach them with humility. See
what unselfish love can do.
Perhaps you
can discover a way to be a brave Christian in service.
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