I Am Called to Serve Others

In Romans 14:12 I read, “Each of us will give a personal account to God." (NLT)

At the end of my life on Earth, I will stand before God and he’ll evaluate how well I served others with my life. The Bible says, “Each of us will give a personal account to God” (Romans 14:12 NLT).

Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy I spent on myself compared with what I invested in serving others.

At that point, all my excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: “I was too busy” or “I had my own goals” or “I was preoccupied with working, having fun, and preparing for retirement.”

To all excuses, God will respond with something like this: “Sorry, wrong answer. I created, saved, and called you. Then I commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

The Bible warns unbelievers, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves” (Romans 2:8 NLT). And Believers who live for themselves will lose eternal rewards. 

The Bible says that I’m only fully alive when I’m helping others. Jesus said it like this: “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB).

Then he repeats a similar truth twice in the book of Matthew and twice in Luke:

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it” (Matthew 10:39 TLB).

“For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again” (Matthew 16:25 TLB).

“Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it, but whoever insists on keeping his life will lose it” (Luke 9:24 TLB).

“Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it” (Luke 17:33 TLB).

Did you catch that? This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. If I am not serving, I’m just existing—because life is meant for ministry.

What does God expect from me? He wants me to learn to love and serve others unselfishly. 

In summary, at the end of my life, I will stand before God and he’ll evaluate how well I served others with my life. Consider the implications. One day God will compare how much time and energy I spent on myself compared with what I invested in serving others. All my excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow. To all excuses, God will respond with something like this: “Sorry, wrong answer. I created, saved, and called you. Then I commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?” The Bible warns unbelievers, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves”. And Believers who live for themselves will lose eternal rewards. The Bible says that I’m only fully alive when I’m helping others. Jesus said “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live”. Then he repeats a similar truth twice in the book of Matthew and twice in Luke. This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. If I am not serving, I’m just existing, life is meant for ministry. God wants me to learn to love and serve others unselfishly. 

Each of us will be accountable to Christ, not to others. When I stand before God and give a personal account of my life, I won't worry about what others have done. It doesn't matter how much or how little I have. What matters is what I do with what I've been given and if God can trust me with more. God has entrusted me with certain assets to manage while I'm here. He's watching, testing and wants to see how I handle them. I can decide what I want my life to be about. When I use the resources he's given me to make an eternal difference, I will hear God say to me, Well Done.

 

God Has Work for Me

In Ephesians 2:10 I read, "It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives helping others." (TLB)

God calls me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. I was put on Earth to make a contribution.

God designed me to make a difference with my life. I wasn’t created just to consume resources—to eat, breathe, and take up space. I was created to add to life on Earth, not just to take from it. God wants me to give something back—to help other people.

The Bible says, “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10 TLB).  

Whenever I serve others in any way, I am actually serving God. As Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master. In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really serving, and you know he will reward you” (CEV).

In one of his parables, Jesus said, “The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me’” (Matthew 25:40 CEV).

And the apostle Paul shared the same message: “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Ephesians 6:7 NLT).

God said it this way to the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament: “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work” (Jeremiah 1:5 NCV).

When most people think of this “special work,” they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy. But God says that he expects every member of his family to minister. In the Bible, the words “servant” and “minister” are synonyms; “service” and “ministry” are synonyms too. As a Christian, I am a minister. And when I’m serving, I’m ministering.

Why didn’t God just immediately take me to heaven the moment I accepted his grace? Why did he leave me, his children in a fallen world? He leaves me here to fulfill his purposes.

Once I am saved, God intends to use me for his goals. God has a ministry for me in his church and a mission for me in the world.

In summary, God calls me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. I was put on Earth to make a contribution. God designed me to make a difference with my life. I wasn’t created just to consume resources. I was created to add to life on Earth, not just to take from it. God wants me to give something back—to help others. Whenever I serve others in any way, I am actually serving God. God says that he expects every member of his family to minister. I am a minister. And when I’m serving, I’m ministering. He leaves me here to fulfill his purposes. God intends to use me for his goals. God has a ministry for me in his church and a mission for me in the world.

I became a Christian through God's unmerited grace, not as a result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on my part. Out of gratitude for this free gift, I should seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please myself. While there is no action or work I can do that can help me obtain salvation, God's intention is that my salvation results in acts of service. I am not merely saved for my own benefit but to serve Christ and build up the church. I am God's work of art and workmanship. My salvation is something only God could do. It is his powerful, creative work within me. If God considers me his workmanship, then I dare not treat myself or others with disrespect or as inferior work.

God’s Goal for Me Is Character, Not Comfort

In Ephesians 4:22-24 I read, “Take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you." (The Message)

Many religions and philosophies promote the old lie that people are divine or can become gods. Let's be absolutely clear: I will never become God or even a god.

That prideful lie is Satan’s oldest temptation. Satan wanted Adam and Eve to follow his advice and promised them this if they would: “You will be like God . . .” (Genesis 3:5 NIV).

This desire to be a god shows up every time I try to control my circumstances, my future, or the people around me. But I’m a creature; I will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want me to become a god; he wants me to become godly, taking on his values, attitudes, and character.

I am meant to “take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into my conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in me” (Ephesians 4:22-24 The Message).

God’s ultimate goal for my life on Earth is not comfort but character development. He wants me to grow up spiritually and become like Christ.

Becoming like Christ does not mean losing my personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created my uniqueness, so he certainly doesn’t want to destroy it. Christlikeness is all about transforming my character, not my personality.

Every time I forget that character is one of God’s purposes for my life, I become frustrated by my circumstances. I’ll wonder, “Why is this happening to me? Why am I having such a difficult time?” One answer is that life is supposed to be difficult! Difficulty enables me to grow. Remember, Earth is not heaven.

In John 10:10, Jesus promises: “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (KJV). Many Christians misinterpret this promise of abundant life to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, constant happiness, full realization of dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer.

In a word, expecting the Christian life to be easy. Expecting heaven on Earth.

But God is not my genie or my servant. If I fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, I will become severely disillusioned and live in denial of reality.

Life is not about me! I exist for God’s purposes, not vice versa. Why would God provide heaven on Earth when he’s planned the real thing for us in eternity?  

God gives me my time on Earth to build and strengthen my character—so that I’ll be ready for an eternity in heaven.

In summary, many religions and philosophies promote the old lie that people are divine or can become gods. That prideful lie is Satan’s oldest temptation. This desire to be a god shows up every time I try to control my circumstances, my future, or the people around me. But I’m a creature; I will never be the Creator. God doesn’t want me to become a god; he wants me to become godly, taking on his values, attitudes, and character. I am meant to “take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into my conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in me. God’s ultimate goal for my life on Earth is not comfort but character development. He wants me to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. God created my uniqueness, so he certainly doesn’t want to destroy it. Christlikeness is all about transforming my character, not my personality. Every time I forget that character is one of God’s purposes for my life, I become frustrated by my circumstances and wonder, “Why is this happening?” Life is supposed to be difficult! Difficulty enables me to grow. Earth is not heaven. Many misinterpret the promise of abundant life to mean perfect health, a comfortable lifestyle, constant happiness, full realization of dreams, and instant relief from problems through faith and prayer. Expecting the Christian life to be easy. Expecting heaven on Earth. But God is not my genie or my servant. If I fall for the idea that life is supposed to be easy, I will become severely disillusioned and live in denial of reality. Life is not about me! I exist for God’s purposes. God gives me my time on Earth to build and strengthen my character—so that I’ll be ready for an eternity in heaven.

My old way of life before I believed in Christ is completely in the past. I should put it behind me like old clothes to be thrown away. When I decided to accept Christ's gift of salvation, it was a one-for-all-time decision along with daily conscious commitments. I am not to be driven by desire and impulse. I must put on a new nature, head in a new direction, and have a new way of thinking that the Holy Spirit gives me. 

Fulfill Your Calling Through Service

In 1 Corinthians 12:27 I read, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." (NLT)

I need to be connected to a church family so I can fulfill my calling to serve other believers in practical ways. My service is desperately needed in the body of Christ.  Each believer has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small service to God; it all matters.

Likewise, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference.

There is no correlation between size and significance when it comes to service in the body of Christ. Every ministry matters, because we are all dependent on each other to function.

What happens when one part of my body fails to function? It gets sick. The rest of the body suffers. Imagine if your liver decided to start living for itself: “I’m tired! I don’t want to serve the body anymore! I want a year off just to be fed. I’ve got to do what’s best for me! Let some other part take over.”

What would happen? My body would die. Today thousands of local churches are dying because of Christians who are unwilling to serve. They sit on the sidelines as spectators, and the body suffers.

God has called me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. As Ephesians 2:10 says, “He has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do” (GNT).

Whenever I serve others in any way, I am actually serving God.

In summary, I need to be connected to a church family so I can fulfill my calling to serve others in practical ways. Each believer has a role to play, and every role is important. There is no small service to God; it all matters. Likewise, there are no insignificant ministries in the church. Some are visible and some are behind the scenes, but all are valuable. Small or hidden ministries often make the biggest difference. There is no correlation between size and significance. Every ministry matters, because we are all dependent on each other to function. What happens when one part of my body fails to function? The rest of the body suffers. God has called me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. He has created me for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for me to do. Whenever I serve others in any way, I am actually serving God.

All of us together are Christ's body and each of us has a part. Desire the gifts that are most helpful. 

My Abilities Are God’s Map for My Life

In Hebrews 13:21 I read, “May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him." (NLT)

Different animals are designed to excel in specific areas, and they can’t be expected to do all the other things. A duck is made to be a duck—not anything else.

 

It’s the same for people. God has designed each person different from all the others. When I expect everyone to fit in the same mold, the result is frustration, discouragement, mediocrity, and failure.

God made me to be me. He has given me unique abilities, and he wants me to use them the way he intended.

If I’m wondering what God’s will is for my life? Look at my abilities. They’re my road map; they point me in the direction I should go. When I know what I’m good at, then I can know what God wants me to do with my life.

The Bible says, “May he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him” (Hebrews 13:21 NLT).

Through my abilities, God has equipped me to do his will. As I use those abilities, I’ll start to see how he produces “every good thing” in my life.

In summary, different animals are designed to excel in specific areas. They can’t be expected to do all the other things. It’s the same for people. God has designed each of us different from all the others. If I expect everyone to fit in the same mold, the result is frustration, discouragement, mediocrity, and failure. God made me to be me. He has given me unique abilities, and he wants me to use them the way he intended. To find out what God’s will is for my life, I need to look at my abilities. They’re my road map; they point me in the direction I should go. When I know what I’m good at, then I can know what God wants me to do with my life. Through my abilities, God has equipped me to do his will. As I use those abilities, I’ll start to see how he produces “every good thing” in my life.

God works in me to make me the kind of person that would please him, and he equips me to do the kind of work that would please him. Allow God to change me from within and then use me to help others.