Martin Luther King, Jr. said,  “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.  You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.  You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.  You only need a heart full of grace; a soul generated by love.”  There are no restrictions, tests to pass, or classes you must attend in order to be a servant of God.  You merely have to surrender yourself to His service, and be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to infuse you with the qualities of Christ.  What we would call “Christian Service” which is much different then “Customer Service” is distinguished by the qualities of character that emerge in our character as we follow Jesus. 
          The fruit the Holy Spirit is growing in our lives as we follow Christ is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (See Galatians 5:22-26).  The qualities of true Christian service are also exhibited in the attractive things that the love of Christ manifests in our lives as we serve.  “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (I Corinthians 13:4-7).  These are the accolades listed on the resume of one who actively participates in Christian service. 
          One of the most successful customer-oriented businesses in the history of America is McDonald’s.  Founder Ray Kroc was 52 years old when he launched the idea for McDonald’s.  He said, “I was 52 years old. I had diabetes and incipient arthritis.  I had lost my gall bladder and most of my thyroid gland in earlier campaigns, but I was convinced that the best was ahead of me.”   The best was ahead for Kroc because he had the right attitude toward the people to whom he wanted to sell burgers.  Kroc often said, “We take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else.”  Say what you want about the Golden Arches, but Kroc built a business that has sold more hamburgers to more people all over the world than any other hamburger joint. 
          Though we may enjoy Big Macs, Jesus-followers are not in the hamburger business.  We are, however, in the serving business.  Christian service goes beyond adding hamburgers, tacos, cars, trucks, or itunes to people’s collection of stuff.  Christian service is taking eternal destiny and spiritual formation of people seriously.  McDonald’s takes the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else.  The church needs to take the spiritual formation business of people’s lives more seriously than anyone else. 
          Every single one of us have special gifts, and we are called to use them in the power of the Spirit to show God’s grace to everyone.  I like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases I Peter 4:10 which speaks to the manner in which we should serve.  “Love makes up for practically anything.  Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.  Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help.  That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!”

Category : Tommy Talk