We are blessed to bless...

"We are blessed to bless a world in pieces,
We are loved to love where love is not,
We are changed to be the change you promised,
We are freed to be your hands, oh God."


"For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.  For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"   -Galatians 5:13-14


"Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.  Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.  Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death- even death on a cross."  -Philippians 2:3-8


Do you serve?  How do you serve?  Why do you serve?
I asked some 5th-8th graders this last question and I got responses like, "because it's fun", "to help people", "because it makes me feel good", "because I care about the issue"....
When I was their age, I probably would've said similar things.  Now that I'm a little older and have experienced more involved service projects, and volunteer opportunities, I find I'm pondering the same question and coming up with different answers.
I have experienced some game changers.  You see, sometimes, service is not fun.  Sometimes it is scary and painful and exhausting.  Sometimes service does not make me feel good.  Sometimes it makes me feel sad and angry that there is such wanting in our world.  Sometimes I feel guilty for what I have.
And as a Christian striving to understand and live by the ideals communicated in the rich histories and examples found in the Bible, I find myself wondering, "Why would His answer be?".  Of course, I don't know for sure, but I think we find hints in the scriptures.  I think the freedom expressed in Galatians suggests an answer along the lines of, "because I can".  Because my God enables me to serve.  Simple, but I do not believe the call to serve is overly complicated.
I love the lines from "We are Blessed" quoted above.  They center around a similar idea.  I do not believe that God blesses us for the fun of it.  Or that He loves us more than we could ever fathom to have our hearts overflow onto themselves.  Or that He constantly labors to guide our souls to a place of greater joy so we can pat ourselves on the back.  Or that He removes the shackles of sin so we can twiddle our thumbs.
Perhaps, He even intends for the injustices of the world to break our hearts.  That we would be left with a deep ache that would fuel our hands, hearts, and minds to reach out and embrace a life of humility.  That we would know that something isn't right when we go home to a soft bed, comfortable home, a stocked fridge and pantry, while others are cold, hungry, and lonely.  That we would not be satisfied with doing no more than expressing our gratitude to our God for His blessings, so that we would be moved to become one another's servants, emptying ourselves of our own selfish ambitions and making room for God's perfect plans, obedient to our loving Father.  That we would come to see that very little separates us from the people and the despair around us.


Prayer:  Loving Father God, We thank You for Your goodness.  All that we have is from You.  Give us the courage and the drive to open our arms and hearts to those who are hurting around us and our own hurts, so that we might use what You have given us to bless a world in need, to love where love is not, to sow seeds of kindness and justice.  Amen!