A Serving Snippet

I came across the following devotional, courtesy of InTouch Ministries, and felt compelled to share:

1 Corinthians 12:18-26

When I talk about Christians serving the church with their God-given talents and gifts, people oftentimes think too small, perhaps picturing the choir singer or the Sunday school teacher. But if they themselves aren’t naturally adept at singing or teaching, they give up.

It’s time that we stop thinking in terms of a “Sunday only” establishment.  The church is not simply a place or a time; it is a body of believers, each one uniquely gifted by God to guide, help, challenge, and support the rest. In fact, most service to the Lord doesn’t take place inside the church building. It happens out in the world, where we do all the things that Scripture commands.

The majority of believers aren’t in a position to influence a lot of people. When we act or speak, only those closest to us notice, but a chain reaction ripples outward to affect an entire community. Paul’s metaphor of body parts working together harmoniously is a helpful description of how one small action can have a widespread impact. Consider the way tensing your toes will keep your foot stable and thereby steady your whole body. In the same way, a gentle rebuke, a listening ear, or a loving deed benefits the church by strengthening one brother or sister, who then supports another.

We are on this earth to serve the kingdom of God and His church. And we do that by ministering to each other in small ways that steady the whole body as we give extra support to one member. In talking about such service, I challenge you to find a need that God can meet through you.

This devotion really amplified for me this very week, during a Staff Retreat held here at Gateway Church. One of the coolest exercises was to ‘group up,' then determine what it looks like to engage in local missions in general. Through five group presentations, numerous ideas, methods and rationale were given of how we may be able to reach those in our neighborhoods, city and region on the whole. What a wonderful example of faith-in-action and boots-to-the-ground efforts to reach those outside the church walls. To echo the last sentence of the devotional, “…I challenge you to find a need that God can meet through you.”

May God richly bless you and yours as you seek to serve Him!