GRACE-WARD!
You do a better job… You experience more joy… You persevere through difficulties and overcome greater obstacles…when you have a sense of passion for what your doing!
Our gracious God deserves for us to serve Him (and others in His name) with conviction…with commitment…and with passion. We must leave behind lifeless service that is motivated by guilt, mere obligation or the attempt to earn His favor. For if our life of service is fueled by the right motivations it will release passion in our service and make it one of the most meaningful parts of our daily routine.
Yes, but how?
Romans 12:1,2 exhorts us to live consecrated lives as living sacrifices. The remaining sections of the letter give of us several ways to express that consecrated life. The first is by using our unique grace-gifts to minister to and strengthen our brothers and sisters in the community of believers we belong to.
Tucked away in Romans 12:3-8 are several ingredients that infuse passion into that life of service.
We serve with passion when we
SERVE IN RESPONSE TO GRACE
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you…..We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” (vs.3,6)
Paul understood his service to God and God’s people in the role of an Apostle was not the result of his natural talent or the power of his personality. It was the outworking of God’s grace in his life. When we put our grace-gifts to work in service to those around us we do so not on the basis of our own worthiness but in response to God’s grace toward us. It is God’s grace at work in us and expressed through us for the edification of others.
SERVE IN THE CONTEXT OF COMMUNITY
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (vss.4,5)
We belong to a community of believers and our gifts are not meant to be exercised in isolation. We have the privilege and responsibility to serve our brothers and sisters with our grace-gifts for their blessing and benefit. We receive God’s nourishing grace in our own lives when they use their gifts for our benefit as well. We encourage and celebrate God’s working in our brothers and sisters as we serve together.
SERVE WITH APPRECIATION FOR OUR VARIETY
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. (vss.6-8)
We each serve with a unique expression of God’s grace-gifting. Although we have different abilities, the same empowering grace is being expressed through them all. The same grace that empowered Paul as an Apostle, equipped others to encourage, give, prophesy or show mercy! Your acts of service may not be expressed the same way as someone else does it. Not only is that okay, it’s expected!
God wants all “31 flavors” of His grace to be experienced in the local church. Be faithful to contribute yours and do so……..
with PASSION!
For more:
*(Romans 1:5) ;(Romans 15:15,16a); (1 Corinthians 15:9,10)
*(1 Corinthians 12:12,25)
*(1 Peter 4:10,11);(1 Corinthians 12:5,6)