Week Five (Service) - Sunday

Service

In the last half of the 20^th century, the catch-phrase A Personal Relationship with God gained popularity within many Christian circles.  While I don’t believe you will find many people who would dispute the need of such a relationship, I have come to discover that many people don’t really understand what a personal relationship with God means.  The one passage in the Bible that probably has the greatest impact on my life is the one known as the Great Commandment.  In these couple of verses, Jesus basically sums up our whole purpose in life saying, “Love the Lord your God with all of you heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself” (Paraphrased).  It must be stressed again and again that this commandment has two parts.  Each is indelibly linked to the other.  The first part is to love God, above and beyond anything and everyone else.  This is where many want to stop.  They want to love God and that want to believe that this fulfills their personal relationship with God requirement.  But, there is a second part of this commandment that cannot be ignored – to love others as you love yourself. 

Why would Jesus put these two together?  Shouldn’t loving God be enough?  Actually, it’s very simple to see the link, if you think about it.  Everything and everyone, every one, is God’s own unique creation.  Great care and love has been spent to create each person.  God loves every person.  No one is an exception.  So for us to refuse to love every other person, regardless of how much we may dislike them, is to minimize God’s creation.  That response in turn implies that we know better than God, which elevates us in our minds above God.  Friends, that is sin. 

Still there are many who truly love God and sympathize for the poor and afflicted.  They are ardent in their prayers for God to intervene on their behalf.  Some feel compelled to give monetarily.  Yet, they still have an emptiness within them.  They do not feel like they have an intimate relationship with God.  Many times, pastors are approached by tearful persons who feel they do not have that “Blessed Assurance” within them.  They can’t say with any certainty that they feel God within them.  They come to pastors and other Christian mentors for help to settle their restless souls.  The cure is basically always the same, if you want to feel God in you, you have to let God be in you and work through you.

If you will recall, Jesus said that he came to serve, not to be served.  If we are truly disciples or followers of Jesus, then we are to do likewise.  The student is not greater than the teacher.  So, we must get ourselves into being servants, not just of God, but of all people. 

Some may ask, can’t I just give money and let professionals do the work?  While money is a vital necessity in missionary efforts, it is not the most important part.  Unquestionably, the most important thing that you can do in Christian mission is to become physically involved.  Money provides for needs, but it cannot take the place of the human touch.  People need to be touched, to be reminded that they are human.  Think about it, Jesus could have healed the sick just by speaking, but more often than not, the gift of healing came through his touch.

Shortly after World War II, a small European town began to clean up from the ravages of battle.  Though many of their buildings and homes had been utterly destroyed, nothing brought as much despair as the damage sustained by one particular statue.  In the center of the town stood a statue of Jesus, which had been carved with great care from one piece of flawless marble.  It had been the source of pride in the town as it portrayed Jesus with his arms outstretched, as if beckoning those who gazed upon him to come and take refuge in his embrace.  But as was the case in so many pieces of art, it too suffered from the great conflict.   Both of the hands of the statue had been broken off.  The townspeople gathered to discuss how they were going to respond to the desecration of their beloved statue.  Some petitioned that the town spend no expense and have the statue repaired.  Some concluded that not even the most masterful artisan could restore their beloved statue to its former glory, so it would be better to have it removed and replaced.  The town became embittered.  Then one morning, a hand-carved sign appeared at the base of the statue and because of its appearance, the statue remains standing in the square to this day.  The words on the sign gave new meaning and relevance to the statue of Jesus.  The sign simply read, “I Have No Hands But Yours.”

All of this is to say that, as in the open verse of Romans 12, God doesn’t need our words and beliefs…God needs our bodies.  Anyone can give money, and everyone should pray, but only you can give yourself.  Putting ourselves at the disposal of God’s work in the lives of those who are hurting is the greatest expression of love that we can give to others and to our God.


JOURNAL QUESTIONS

1. Reflect on your sermon notes and journal reading from today.


GROUP EXERCISE

10 minutes - Community Building (informal time of gathering)
10 minutes - Sharing of Concerns and Praises
  5 minutes - Prayer for One Another
30 minutes - Discussion of Topic
                     - What journal entry would you like to share?
                     - What missions have you been involved in before?
                     - What missions would you be willing to become involved in personally and as a group?
  5 minutes - Wrap Up/Closing Prayer