The Need to Be Served

 “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.””

1 Corinthians 12:21 ESV

We hear often about the gifts that God entrusts to the Church. And, most often, the point of these sentiments is that we’re to use our gifts in the service of God and the Church. Yet, while this is, indeed, true, there is yet another lesson for us to take from this reality.

If you’re like me (and from my experience, most of you are), we are more willing to serve others than to allow others to serve us. This flows from our independent nature. It flows from our desire to take care of ourselves. And, for this reason, we’re not often willing to ask for help.

Yet, as we see in the verse above, we need every part of the body. It’s not only about giving help to others. Nor is it exclusively about serving others. It’s also about receiving the help and service of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

This is something of which I’ve been reminded during my recent surgery. There’s a humiliation involved, being completely helpless and at the whim of others. There’s a humiliation in being exposed before others. There’s a humiliation in being unable to even go to the bathroom on your own. There’s a humiliation in needing others to brush your teeth and to even help you roll over in bed. But, at the same time, it’s a blessing to have those who put all of their time and energy into your welfare.

This is what I’ve experienced recently. My surgeon was fantastic. His team was phenomenal. Each nurse who cared for me was caring and compassionate.

The same is true of all of you, as well. Your care for me has been amazing. Even though I’m not quick to ask for help, you have stepped up to the plate. The prayers lifted up on my behalf are greatly appreciated. The meals delivered to my home have been both delicious and a great blessing. The expressions of concern and offers of help have clearly demonstrated the love you have for me.

We can go to extremes on either side of this equation. We can become overly dependent upon others. We can become lazy and unwilling to do for ourselves. Or, of course, we can become hyper-independent, refusing the help of others. And we must take care to do neither.

But, the simple fact of the matter is that I need all of you. As much as it’s my call to serve you, I also need to be served by you. And it’s a great blessing to receive this service.

The ministry of the Church is not dependent on one person. It’s dependent on all of us. And my hope and prayer is that each of us will not only serve one another, gladly and willingly. My hope and prayer is that we’ll also receive the blessings offered to us by the body of Christ.

Made Clean

“What God has made clean, do not call common.”

Acts 10:15

According to the mindset of the Jews, they were the people of God while the Gentiles were not. They were clean, while the Gentiles were unclean. And, for this reason, the Jews looked down upon the Gentiles and generally limited their contact with them.

This mindset persisted even after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It persisted as the early church began to carry out the Great Commission, proclaiming the gospel in Jerusalem, as well as throughout Judea and Samaria. They continued to believe that the gospel was for their people alone. They continued to believe that, if they were to have access to the gospel, the Gentiles must first become Jews.

However, early on, God began to make clear that the gospel was not only for some, but for all. He made clear to Peter that he was to visit the home of a Gentile who had summoned him, desiring to hear the message of salvation. And Peter shared with all who had gathered the lesson that God had revealed to him, seen in the words above.

God had taught Peter that he was not to call common, that he was not to call unclean, what God had made clean. And, even though the Gentiles had been unclean, this was no longer true of them. It was no longer true of them because Christ had made them clean.

Jesus had made them clean by his death on the cross. He had made them clean by his resurrection from the grave. As we read in 1 John 2:2, Jesus served as the propitiation, or as the atoning sacrifice, for the sin of the whole world. And, for this reason, they were not to be denied the gospel.

Much like the Jews, we often consider certain groups of people unclean. We consider them to be undesirable. And, for this reason, we avoid them and deny them the gospel.

It could be those of a particular race or culture. It could be those of a certain political mindset. It could be those guilty of a certain set of sins. It could be those of a particular class. It could be those with certain disabilities. It could be those of all sorts of distinctions.

As we, then, seek to carry out the Great Commission, we too must learn this lesson. We must not call common, or unclean, that which God has made clean. We must realize that, just as Jesus has made us clean by his sacrifice, so too have all others. And, for this reason, we must not deny them the gospel. 

Growing in Love

 

“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.”

2 Thessalonians 1:1-3 ESV

 

It’s clear from Scripture that the desire of God is that we should love one another. We’re called to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’re called to love the stranger, or the alien, who lives among us as we love ourselves. We’re called to love one another as Christ has loved us. And we’re called to love even our enemies.

 

We know this and, although we try our best to carry it out, we continually fall short. And, as we see this reality, our primary response is simply to try harder. Our primary response is self-motivation or even group-motivation.

 

The problem with this is that, because of our sinful nature, love does not come natural to us. Even among those for whom it seems love should be natural, it’s very difficult. And when it comes to those who hate us, it’s impossible.

 

How, then, do we grow in this area of our life? How do we grow in love for one another? The answer to this is implied in the above passage.

 

Paul gives thanks to God for the Thessalonians because their faith was growing abundantly. In addition to this, he says, their love for one another was growing. And it seems clear that there’s a correlation between the two.

 

As they grew in faith, they grew in love. And the same is true for each of us. As we grow in faith, our love for one another naturally grows along with it.

 

This follows naturally because, as we trust in Christ, our heart is conformed to his own. As we trust in Christ, good works naturally follow. And these works are empowered by the Spirit of God.

 

We see this, for example, as we look at Galatians 5. Love, we see, is a fruit of the Spirit. In other words, it’s empowered by the Spirit of God.

 

Growing in love, then, is not something that we can produce by our own strength or effort. It’s, rather, something that’s produced by God through faith in Jesus. In short, as we grow in faith, so too will we grow in love.

 

If we, then, are to grow in love, we must grow in faith. And, once again, this is not something that we accomplish. It’s not something that’s attained by our own efforts. We grow in faith as God works in us by his Word and Spirit.

Made Holy

 

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23-28 ESV

 

As Christians, we know and believe that we are saved by the grace of God alone. We know and believe that this grace is received through faith in Christ alone. And we know and believe that our efforts play absolutely no role whatsoever in our salvation.

 

However, when it comes to sanctification, we tend to believe something very different. We tend to believe that, even if God has a hand in it, we are responsible for our sanctification. We tend to believe that, ultimately, we are sanctified by our own effort.

 

Just to be clear, to sanctify something means to make it sacred. It means to make something holy. And sanctification is the process by which we are made sacred. It’s the process by with we are made holy.

 

While it’s true that we can reject the work of God in our life, while it’s true that we can cast-off this blessing by ongoing sin and unrepentance, we are sanctified in the same way that we are justified. We are sanctified in the very same way we are saved. Sanctification is the work of God alone.

 

We see this in the above passage. As Paul is concluding his first epistle to the Thessalonian church, he offers to them a blessing. And it’s clear, in this blessing, that God is the source of our holiness.

 

He didn’t instruct them to sanctify themselves. Nor did he tell them that they played a role in their sanctification. He simply blesses them, saying: “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely…” And, afterwards, he offers to them this assurance: “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”

 

This stands in agreement with the rest of Scripture, which is clear about our sinful condition and our inability to please God. It stands in agreement with the rest of Scripture, which tells us that the good we do results from the work and power of God in our life. It stands in agreement with the rest of Scripture, which assures us that every blessing comes only from the hand of God.

 

So, just as we trust not in ourselves for salvation, may we refrain from trusting in ourselves for our sanctification. Let’s, rather, look to the Lord who accomplishes this both in us and for us. Let’s trust that, as he continually works within us by his Word and Spirit, he will make us holy.