October 18th, 2013
Matthew 25:37-40 — Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
It’s not about the numbers. It’s about one number, the number one.
There have been times when I’ve been involved in ministry activities, and very few people seemed to need what I was doing. Honestly, it didn’t feel great. Then at other times there was a lot of interest. That felt good. What’s wrong with that picture? Two things. I was getting validation from the numbers and not from the service, and I was forgetting that I wasn’t doing anything anyway.
There are times when our view of ministry gets very distorted. Apart from the ideas that it’s about the numbers and that somehow we are doing it, sometimes we get the idea that service is something groups — even churches — do for communities. If you have any of these illusions, it’s time to sweep them away.
The word Jesus most often used to describe servants was “diakonos” — which always pointed to an individual who is busy doing something to help somebody else. Collections of people are not called to service. Individuals are. Jesus didn’t recruit His disciples as a group, each one is called individually. Service is by one person at a time. Nor is service really an activity directed towards group. The verses at the head of this piece make it clear … “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one…”. Service is to one person at a time.
The bigger errors though are in confusing why we do service. When we are invited to serve … To ministry … We need to know where the call comes from. That’s what helps us to be discerning about the calls we answer. It’s flattering to be asked to serve, but we need to know who’s doing the asking. If it’s not God, it’s not ministry. Service is from one — the one. We need to be clear, also, about why we do what we do. Let’s not run away with the idea that the one I serve depends on me. God can meet their needs quite well without my help! God calls us to serve because the service will benefit us, and we should remember “ye have done it unto me.” Service is for (the)One.
To me, the heart of service is God saying “I’ve got something I want you to do for somebody. It will please me if you do. I don’t need you to do it, but it will be good for you, and pleasing to me.”
The joy of service — From One, By One, To One, For One.