Choosing to Serve

As I worked with all of my new sisters in Christ at Southern Seminary this week, I began to wonder: How is it that there are so many gifted women throughout the body of Christ and yet at the sametime such division and chaos? My mind began to wander back to a time in the past when I had asked a sister in Christ, why she was serving in the position she was? Her answer was very simple…,” because they needed someone to do the job.”

Have you ever been asked to fill a position in the church and did so for the sole reason that no one else would? If you are like me the answer is yes.

Is this what the Lord intends? My belief is no.

Certainly we like Christ are to serve the body, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,” Matt 20:28a and yes we are to serve one another, For you were called to freedom, brethren; only {do} not {turn} your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Gal;atians 5:13.

Look carefully though in Galatians 5:13. In this Paul puts a condition on our service. He shows that our service should not be for any fleshly reason, but only through the love of Christ.

Towards this end Paul shows in Romans:  “Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, {each of us is to exercise them accordingly:} if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith” Romans 12:6.

Clearly indicating that we have not all received the same gifts. As we have received individual gifts, thus we are called to serve in differing capacities.

We were created for God’s glory and so we should only use our gifts as He directs. One of the ways He directs is in the manner of our spiritual gifts. Additionally we must seek Him to determine if NOW is the time for serving.

In Acts 16:6 Paul is headed to Asia to spread the gospel to all of the people of the region, but God had another idea.

“They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia”

Had God not gifted Paul as and evangelist? Was he not an apostle? Were there not many in Asia who desperately needed the Word of God?

The answer to all of these is YES!!

But through His omniscience God saw a “better way” and directed Paul to Macedonia.

Our God is not a God of chaos. He has established His ways and He directs our path. May we all remember Paul in Acts 16:6 the next time anyone in the church asks us to serve. By doing so our God is glorified and peace prevails.