The After Sunday Recap: October 4

Yesterday was a big day for our church as we kicked off our fall Contribute-emphasis series, called "Servolution." Part of the DNA our our church (and I believe the church universal) is simply that we should be people marked by our service. Service is a crux of what Jesus taught while here on the earth, and it should be a part of the lives of people who claim to be followers of Christ.

That's something that I can really get behind. And to be honest, I think it's something that just about everyone can get behind. It's good to help others. I don't know that there are too many people on the earth who would disagree with that statement. Yet moving from a simple assent to the statement "we should serve" to actually serving is a totally different thing.

I know it is for me. At CCU, we have a requirement each semester that we need to serve 15 hours somewhere, and to be completely honest, it's a real struggle for me sometimes. Serving takes time... valuable time out of our packed schedules. It takes effort and energy. It requires me to stop always focusing on myself and my desires, and instead to focus on others and how I can help them. This Sunday, we talked a lot at Suncrest about having our heart become "enlarged" so that we will quit saying things like, "I'd like to serve, but..." and actually just start serving.

We identified three basic barriers to us serving:

1. My heart is separated from the need.
2. The need is separated from my life.
3. My life is disconnected from Jesus.

For me, I think the really telling one is #2. I see needs all around me. I know that there are people living in war-torn countries who are homeless and have no idea where their next meal is going to come from, yet what have I done to help out? I know that there are lonely people in nursing homes, our people making difficult decisions at a pregnancy center, yet what am I doing to truly reach out to these people? I know that there are people living on the streets of our cities who just want someone to love on them, invest and believe in them, and show them they are worth something, yet have I done anything to help them? The answer to all of those questions is a resounding "no." James 2:14-16 reminds me that I may care about all of these situations deeply, but unless I am doing something about it, my feelings mean nothing.

Jesus himself said that He came to this world not to be served, but to serve. I think that should be reason and motivation enough for me to contribute, for me to serve, for me to selflessly put others' lives ahead of my own. This week I was reminded that part of truly following Jesus means that I am going to get off my "but" and serve the world that Jesus gave his life to save.

(You can view the 10.04.09 sermon, "Get Off Your 'But'" here.)