"How can I help," I aspire to say these four words as often as I can, I want to be characterized as being a servant. Growing up within the Church I have volunteered for many things, some by choice and others by being "voluntold." Because of this I have a passion to be a servant. Why would I want to be a servant, it makes no sense right? I feel it makes perfect sense when I look to who Jesus was and is today. In his incarnate life, Jesus did one main thing, he served people, his whole ministry was built around it and in his being today he is still serving us as the perfect high priest. He has sent the Holy Spirit whose job is to serve us and help us grow into the people God has created, who we would be if there was no sin within us. I also know that for my acts of service I have a reward in heaven which the concept is above my mental grasp.
This last weekend I was in my great friends Brian and Trinity Neilson's wedding. I drove 14 hours there and back, served them for a weekend and, as with all wedding, it was an expensive trip. I will be completely honest in that, before the trip, I was kinda dreading it a bit, I knew it was going to be expensive and it's very hard to skip classes and lose a whole weekend of time this close to the end of the year, not to mention I missed Evening. I had, as some would say, a bad attitude and I knew it. Thankfully as the trip began, God opened my eyes to the joy that this wedding was and I had a great time and regret nothing and wish for nothing different.
After the wedding God gave me a realization: the reward of service, besides the temporarily-intangible one in heaven, is one of the most valuable rewards ever, the reward is a growth in relationship. In serving my friends I grew even more in my relationship with them, at the very least in my own heart. I noticed this and looked back to other times I have served and they have almost always led to a growth in relationship. This got me thinking, what characterizes service? Is it not just a compilation of the fruits of the Spirit? Loving, having joy, having peace, being patient, being kind, doing good things, having faith in others, having a gentle attitude, and having the control over yourself to make it not about yourself. These are the things that make up service and love should be the greatest piece. The fruit of the spirit, through me expressed mainly in being a servant, result in a growth in a relationship.
I heard a story once of a married couple who had all but given up on their relationship and in a last ditch effort went to see her pastor. She expressed her pain and told the pastor how she wished for their to be some way other than divorce. The pastor told her to take one month and commit herself to serving her husband in every way she could, and then see how the relationship went. The wife went back and served her husband for in every way she could. After a month she came back to the pastor overjoyed, his proposal had fixed their marriage. I am not sure if the story itself is true but I know that the principle behind it is.
So the question is who do you want to grow in relationship with? Sadly I don't have enough time to serve every single person I meet, though I strive to, but for the sake of not wearing myself out physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially I need to be deliberate on who I serve. As an RA I serve the guys on my floor. I serve my friends, I hope to one day serve my wife, but most importantly I need to serve Jesus. I need to ask Him what he wants me to do to help. Don't misunderstand, Jesus does not need my help, but he lets me help so that it is a two-way relationship (not just me being served) and so that there is growth in our relationship. I challenge you, and myself, who is it that you wish to have a better relationship with? Who is your enemy right now? Serve them and look to see the growth in relationship, it's not an instant reward it takes time but it is worth it and we all need to be reminded of that from time to time.
