Serve God – Serve People

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History reveals to us many who live purpose driven lives.  Biblical examples are Moses leading the Israelites out of bondage to the Promised Land and the Apostle Paul in his dramatic turnaround from persecuting believers in Christ to preaching the gospel to Gentiles.  Some modern day examples are Amy Carmichael with her missionary work in India and John Sung with his fervent preaching in China and many parts of Asia.  There are many others.

Question: Do you know what God’s purpose for your life is?

The Apostle Paul wrote: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”(Eph. 2:10).  Believers in Christ are saved to do good works and to accomplish the purpose God has for our lives.  We are called from slavery in sin to freedom in Christ and we should use our freedom to serve one another in love (Ref. Gal. 5:13) and not to indulge the sinful nature.  As believers in Christ, are you still entangled in sinful worldly pursuits at the expense of “serve God – serve people”?

Our faith and hope in Christ ought to compel us to “serve God – serve people” towards their salvation.  We win others to Christ not by our clever arguments or by shafting the gospel message down their throats.   The Bible teaches us to live exemplary lives, depend on the strength and wisdom of the Holy Spirit and to serve all people in love so that we can win them to Jesus Christ.  As believers in Christ we have an inheritance that is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.  We are in a privileged position with God as God’s children confidently addressing Him as “Abba, Father”.  With a clear understanding of our position in Christ, we should live our daily lives with a clear purpose in sharing the good news through the testimony of our transformed lives.  We love and serve people for the sake of the gospel of Christ.  We need to love not in words or tongue but in deeds and truth.

As we live our Christian lives daily, we need to be mindful of the purpose we have as believers on this earth – “To know Christ and to make Him known”.  We should not just merely look at our own interests but also consider the interests of people when we serve and reach out to them.  In doing so, we point people to Christ by our lives.  We “serve God – serve people”.  What intentional actions are you taking today in this matter for the salvation of those around you?