Give Said the Little Stream
"The happiest people are the ones who have learned what it means to serve."
How different from what the world teaches us. Billboards, magazines, and TV advertisements all tell us that in order to be happy we need to be rich, famous, and physically attractive. The world encourages us to focus on ourselves, our desires, our dreams, our well being. I don't know about you, but when I look around, I see a lot of dissatisfaction, emptiness, and sadness. The pressure to be that which the world deems successful drives many people to the brinks of despair.
It is easy for us as Christians to get stuck in a similar rut. While we may shun some things of the world, we still make its principles our own. We try to be good Christians, not because we love Jesus, but because we seek other people's approval. We want to be noticed, and we feel dissatisfied and jealous of those who have more talents, and more recognition than we do. As long as we are self-seeking, we can never experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from serving as Christ served.
This Sabbath I once again was reminded just how much joy it brings to live for others. It was Global Youth Day at the church I went to, and they had organized a day of outreach in the community. I went with a group to sing, pray, and hand out flowers at an assisted living facility. The more I reached out to try to bless the residents, the more I was blessed. The bible says: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38
We can never outgive God.
In the afternoon, I went to a hospital with a group from Southern to sing and pray for patients, and that too was such a blessing. One elderly man started to sob when we came to sing for him because he was so touched and had been so lonely and sad. It almost broke my heart. We have so much to give, and yet I know for myself that I often give so little. We are often too worried about conserving our strengths, and just looking out for our own needs. While I definitely agree that we have to do everything in a balanced manner, I know for myself that I am more in danger of doing too little for those around me than too much. These experiences gave me a clearer understanding of what Jesus meant when He said in John 4:34 "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."
When we give our lives to serve the Master, we find such satisfaction that we have no other desire than to do the will of Him who has sent us to finish His work.
Now while days of outreach are good, serving needs to be a lifestyle rather than an event. How does that look like practically? For me it means looking for opportunities to serve those around me. It may mean praying with somebody, or being there to listen, During my clinicals I try to go out of my way to help my patients and to be a help to the nurses. Last night I had the blessed opportunity to sing for an anxious patient and to pray with him. To serve, at least for me personally, means to be ever attentive to the needs of others, and to allow selfishness to be swallowed up by a deep love for Christ.
"The happiest people truly are the ones who can look beyond themselves to see a world in need."
How different from what the world teaches us. Billboards, magazines, and TV advertisements all tell us that in order to be happy we need to be rich, famous, and physically attractive. The world encourages us to focus on ourselves, our desires, our dreams, our well being. I don't know about you, but when I look around, I see a lot of dissatisfaction, emptiness, and sadness. The pressure to be that which the world deems successful drives many people to the brinks of despair.
It is easy for us as Christians to get stuck in a similar rut. While we may shun some things of the world, we still make its principles our own. We try to be good Christians, not because we love Jesus, but because we seek other people's approval. We want to be noticed, and we feel dissatisfied and jealous of those who have more talents, and more recognition than we do. As long as we are self-seeking, we can never experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from serving as Christ served.
This Sabbath I once again was reminded just how much joy it brings to live for others. It was Global Youth Day at the church I went to, and they had organized a day of outreach in the community. I went with a group to sing, pray, and hand out flowers at an assisted living facility. The more I reached out to try to bless the residents, the more I was blessed. The bible says: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38
We can never outgive God.
In the afternoon, I went to a hospital with a group from Southern to sing and pray for patients, and that too was such a blessing. One elderly man started to sob when we came to sing for him because he was so touched and had been so lonely and sad. It almost broke my heart. We have so much to give, and yet I know for myself that I often give so little. We are often too worried about conserving our strengths, and just looking out for our own needs. While I definitely agree that we have to do everything in a balanced manner, I know for myself that I am more in danger of doing too little for those around me than too much. These experiences gave me a clearer understanding of what Jesus meant when He said in John 4:34 "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work."
When we give our lives to serve the Master, we find such satisfaction that we have no other desire than to do the will of Him who has sent us to finish His work.
Now while days of outreach are good, serving needs to be a lifestyle rather than an event. How does that look like practically? For me it means looking for opportunities to serve those around me. It may mean praying with somebody, or being there to listen, During my clinicals I try to go out of my way to help my patients and to be a help to the nurses. Last night I had the blessed opportunity to sing for an anxious patient and to pray with him. To serve, at least for me personally, means to be ever attentive to the needs of others, and to allow selfishness to be swallowed up by a deep love for Christ.
"The happiest people truly are the ones who can look beyond themselves to see a world in need."
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