Opportunity to Serve

The command by which the Christian lives by, the only obedience that can satisfy God's standards, is to love God with such a depth and commitment that His love for others flows through us and moves us to care for others, especially our brothers and sisters in the family of God. The Christian heart is naturally responsive to the urging of the Holy Spirit to pour itself upon others in a life of compassion and service. It is impossible to live in this manner until God's love is poured abundantly into our hearts. It is the love of God through Christ Jesus which is the foundation for a life of complete dedication, self-renunciation and abandoned love manifested towards others.

When we receive the gift of forgiveness and reconciliation through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus and come to experience God's loving presence with us through all trials and temptations, supporting us in all our shortcomings and weaknesses, we receive a new heart moved when we perceive the needs of others. We learn to never consider ourselves first, but are rather willing to partake in the sorrows, suffering and trials of those around us, ready to be poured out as a sacrifice for their aid and comfort, especially for those in the household of faith. As bearers of Christ, we spread around the love and light of a life changed in the resemblance of our Master. We need to never grow weary or discouraged by people's hard-heartedness, ungratefulness or oblivion. The motivation and inspiration of our service is not the appreciation or the praise of the world. We need to be committed to live in the same way, with steadfast dedication for our Lord, with hearts inflamed by His love, spreading the warmth of His compassion in the darkness of a self-centered and alienated world, giving hope and direction to distressed and lost souls, sacrificing our comfort so that we can offer comfort and whatever may be needed for day-by-day life of those who are burdened, wanting and hurting.

Yes, we are called to do good to all people, and first of all to those of the household of faith. It is within the family of God that we are to first learn to exercise mercy and compassion. We cannot forget our brothers and sisters in Christ who are not spared by the trials and afflictions of ordinary life. We are bound together in one body through the reality of our redemption by the Lord Jesus. Such a manifestation of love makes the testimony of God's life in us real and tangible, builds the body in unity, helping it grow to perfection, and empowers us to testify to the world about the abundance of life and joy that we have in Christ.