Service: Getting to Know the Neighbors

Last week, I spent my vacation surrounded by "gated communities." The condo where I stayed literally was tucked away deep inside one of these communities, a forgotten by-product of the original weekenders who built homes on the lake as respite from the drudgery and distastefulness of the big city. There was one way in and two ways out, but you had to be a card-carrying member of the community to exit from the more convenient gate. Mine was a modest "neighborhood" compared to the others that lay farther up the road, and seriously, there really was only one road in and out. The farther a person drove up the road, the smaller and more exclusive the "communities" became. I didn't know my "neighbors," and they didn't know me!

On my return home, I sat down to review what our kids at church are learning this month. I found it not the least bit ironic that we are going to be discovering what it means to serve - lending a hand to help someone else. Just as last month, the questions put to the kids this month are ones most adults are uncomfortable answering. Just for starters, I had to ask myself two toughies - What in the world am I doing that's more than I have to do, and what am I doing to help someone that others won't help. I'm not the least bit surprised that the Lord's been working on me anyway about being a servant, so this study is just reinforcing the fact that he's trying to get my attention and teach me something!

The Bible is unequivocal about what service looks like for a Christian. We don't have to look any farther than Jesus' life. He is the perfect example of a servant, and we have clear instructions to be like Christ. Too often, though, we are much like a young lawyer who challenged Jesus to define "neighbor" because he was looking for a loophole, a good excuse to serve only folks of his choosing (Luke 10:25-29). Rather than take him to task, Jesus told a parable of a good Samaritan (someone not welcomed in the "gated communities" of Jesus day). Two men - both religious leaders - who should have taken the time to stop and care for a man who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead, literally crossed the road to avoid coming near the injured man. The third man, the Samaritan, came along, saw the man and "...had compassion on him" (Luke 10:33). He dressed his wounds, placed him on his "beast," and took him to an inn where he paid for the man's care. Jesus then posed the question to the young lawyer, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor..." to the injured man (Luke 10:36). In Matthew 25:35-40, we're told that if we are inherit the kingdom prepared for us, we are to minister to the hungry, thirsty, needy, prisoners, and strangers. Not only are they our neighbors, they are called by Jesus, "...the least of my brethren" (Matthew 25:40).

This parable isn't new to me; I've heard it preached and read it more times than I can count. I think I ought to have it figured out by now who my neighbor is - pretty much everyone, even people I don't find attractive, likable, or safe. When I read it this time, I realized that the Samaritan was compassionate because he saw himself in the man left for dead. Both the priest and Levite saw this man, as well as the Samaritan, as undesirable, not fit for their "community" and certainly not worthy of their help. 

I have to remind myself that all of us are alike - we are sinners saved by the same grace that God gives unconditionally (Ephesians 2:8-9). All of us have been "robbed and beaten" by sin that has left us near dead. God's incredible compassion and mercy made sure that we had a means of rescue - salvation as a result of the service Jesus did for us on the cross. He gave his life that we might live. He paid the full price for our restoration. So, when I look at the people around me, I must be moved to compassion as the Samaritan man was because I should see myself in them. They are my neighbors, and I have a directive from my heavenly Father to serve them. 

Initially, we are drawn to Christianity because of Jesus' example - he was a servant. We are slower, though, to grasp that as followers of Christ, we are to become like him (Ephesians 2:10). We always will serve someone or something (Matthew 6:19-21,24). The desire of our hearts should be, then, to serve in such a way that we honor God by helping our neighbors.

"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men..." Ephesians 6:7

Lord, you know me! You know that going the extra mile and serving people - even ones I know and love - just doesn't come easy to me. You also know that I want to be like you. Thank you for understanding my weaknesses and for giving me so many opportunities to learn to be a servant. I pray that I will allow your Holy Spirit to lead me, prompt me, teach me, and convict me when I am disobedient. Use me, Lord. I want to be your servant. Amen.

"Circuit Training" in God's Devoted Follower's Boot Camp

Have you ever stopped to think how lucrative the exercise equipment business is? Buff guys on television "paid programming" make the latest, greatest, "get rock hard abs like mine" machine look so effortless. It's easy to morph into a fit body with sculpted muscles in just a few minutes a day - more like a quick look at the machine - if we can believe the advertising pitch! And it's crazy how many people do believe! We hope that if we have that miracle-working piece of equipment, we will somehow develop the self-discipline it will take to actually use it consistently so that we become fit, like the guy in the ad, without breaking a sweat, and in just a few short sessions. 

So we fork over 4 easy payments of $99.99 plus shipping and handling. When it arrives, we unpack the box with determination, place the "thing" in front of the television, put on our newly purchased work-out gear (it is, after all, all about the look), and begin to exercise, only to discover that the guy on the ad lied. The machine is NOT easy and the effort required to make it work is HUGE! It doesn't take long for our resolve to dissolve and for the equipment to end up in the storage room along with all the other exercise stuff we've accumulated and rejected. 

I wonder if we sometimes assume that becoming a mature Christian is supposed to come without extreme effort, personal sacrifice, and self-discipline. Once we accept Christ as our Savior, the training begins, and it doesn't end until we stand before the Lord, face to face. What is absolutely encouraging is that we have all we need (Phil. 4:19) to develop into "buff Christians." God has given us faith, and he's promised to provide the strength we need to grow in him and to become who he created us to be (Phil. 4:13). He's given us a complete training manual, the Bible, an example to follow, Jesus, and a personal trainer, the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:1-5 is an interesting explanation of the kind of "circuit training" we can expect once we sign on for God's "Devoted Follower's Boot Camp." We discover that first we have entered into relationship with him through faith (Romans 5:1-2). It's this faith that allows us to believe and receive the grace of God and the gift of salvation. It's small faith (maybe the size of a mustard seed - Matthew 17:20), but like muscle and cardio-vascular capacity, it has growth potential! 

Along with this faith, we have hope that, as a result of our salvation, we will know God's glory. Hope goes hand-in-hand with faith (Hebrews 11:1); therefore, hope has room to grow too. But just as muscles and lung capacity don't increase and strengthen by just wishing it so, faith and hope have to be pushed, stretched, and exercised to build endurance. 

God's "training routine" requires that we know "tribulation" (Romans 5:3). But, it's the tribulation that develops patience in us. If we exercise our faith and hope during the tough times, if we stay focused and committed and draw our strength to endure from God, we come out stronger. That strength translates into a "chiseled, Christlike physique," which produces in us the will to keep on following after Christ, doing whatever it takes to become like him. 

The "circuit training" God designs for us follows this pattern - faith to accept salvation, hope for a glorious future with him, tribulation to develop patience, patience to produce experience, and experience that results in more hope (Romans 5:3-5)! 

Romans 8:25 says, "But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." We don't begin our training looking like the physically fit pitch-men in the advertisements, but we do hope that if we are patient (and patience doesn't always mean inactivity) and keep our eyes on the goal, we can develop the fitness God desires for us. 

As we gain endurance, we have the experience to encourage us on to the next level. God wants us to graduate from his "boot camp" fully developed so that on the day that we stand before him, he can say, "Well done! You've run a good race" (I Corinthians 9:24; Hebrews 12:1)!


Lord, you know that we need to be pushed to develop into who you intend for us to be. You start our "training" gently, but you know for us to run the race to the finish, we will need more rigor! Thank you for providing all we need to be successful as we mature in our walk with you.

Parenting - "Up a Tree" Looking for Answers!

One of my favorite Bible stories is that of Zacchaeus, the "wee little man" (Luke 19:1-10). He was both literally and figuratively "up a tree" when he met Jesus. At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves "up a tree" like Zacchaeus, looking for a way out of our desperate situation. 

Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. Maybe he had heard that Jesus wasn't like other religious leaders, or perhaps he was just curious. Quite probably he longed for redemption and restoration into God's family. Nevertheless, Zacchaeus knew he would have to be proactive if he was to see who Jesus was (Luke 19:3-4). Like Zacchaeus, when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our hearts, we will have a strong desire for God. We may not know exactly what we're looking for, but we're driven to seek for "it." We will do anything and look everywhere to find the piece and the peace that's missing. 

Because Zacchaeus was small in stature, he climbed "up a tree" rather than stay "down on the street," among the crowd, hoping to see Jesus. When we seek what's missing in our lives, our ability to see is obstructed by the crowd of distractions of this life. We try things and come up empty. We have to look "up" and shift our vision from what's around us to what's above (Colossians 3:2).

Jesus knew Zacchaeus was waiting, looking, and longing to know him. When he passed by the sycamore tree, Jesus looked up and told Zacchaeus to hurry down because he must abide in his house today. One definition of the verb must is to be compelled. Zacchaeus' desire to know Jesus compelled Jesus to move into his heart and life. When we seek Christ, we find him (Luke 11:9-10). He dwells within us, and we are never the same.

Zacchaeus received Jesus joyfully.  He found whom he was seeking, and his life was changed. He repented and made restoration (Luke 19:8). When we receive Christ, we are forgiven, and he comes to abide in and with us. We become new (II Corinthians 5:17) and know joy (Romans 14:17; 15:13). We change what we've been doing and want to live a life that honors God.

The religious leaders of the day rejected Jesus because he associated with sinners like Zacchaeus, but Jesus came for the lost. About Zacchaeus' conversion, Jesus proclaimed, "This day is salvation come to this house.... For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:9-10). Heaven celebrated (Luke 15:10)!

Eventually, we all find ourselves "up a tree" (Romans 3:23), but when we acknowledge we're lost, we will find Jesus waiting to abide with us (John 14:23). We will know we have found Whom we were seeking. 

Lord, you promise that when we seek you we will find you and that when we call for you, you will answer. Help us to look up to you. Thank you for being our Redeemer and for restoring us to your family. Amen.

Parenting - All I Want for Christmas Is ....

Christmas has been on my mind a lot recently! I know that isn't exactly a profound revelation given that we are in the thick of the holiday season, but I've been seriously preoccupied this year with the whole notion of how we do Christmas.

I started months ago begging my adult children for their "Christmas lists" so that I would know how to purchase for them. They had trouble getting those lists to me; the response to the question, "What do you want for Christmas?" was generally, "I don't know."

As the actual shopping for just the right gifts commenced, I just got irritated. I love my family, I want to give them "good gifts," but the feeling I had was that these kids have everything they need and a whole lot of what they want. They are blessed to be well-educated and well-employed; those material blessings extend to my grandchild. She really doesn't need yet another toy. This "shopping binge" resembled the feeling I have when I over-indulge in some decadent dessert - it was great while I was doing it, but when it was over, not so much! Too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing.

I examined why I was feeling so Scrooge-like about Christmas and decided it had something to do with what's going on in the world around us - growing numbers of people we know without jobs, people losing their homes, folks without health insurance. You get the idea. I am blessed to be able to actually have the "worry" of what to buy family and friends because I have the means to do so. In light of the real problems others are facing, my angst over gift-giving seems rather trivial.

I know I sound like a real Grinch; I'm not. Once I got into the swing of things, I bought gifts that I do hope my family and friends will enjoy. I look forward to giving those gifts and seeing them opened on Christmas morning, but the best part of the day will be the time we spend together and the memories we create.

But even though I will give and receive gifts and will cherish the time with family and friends, here's what I really want for Christmas. I want to know - deeply understand - what it meant for Jesus to leave Heaven to take the most hazardous journey human beings can take - natural birth - to experience life both as God and man.

I want to understand that Mary and Joseph didn't commit to the romanticized version of the Christmas story we've grown up with, but rather to a life they knew would lead to ridicule from their society and most likely a "you're on your own" birth of their first child in conditions far less than ideal. They may have been visited by adoring shepherds and wise men and angels, but they also had to run from their homeland to live as refugees to protect that child. Mary and Joseph knew that being chosen by God for this most sacred appointment did not mean living the life of privilege; they learned what it means to live by faith, to listen to messengers sent from God, to parent not only as earthly parents but also as parents submitted to God's direction and plan for their very "unique" son Jesus.

I want to be so altered in my thinking about Christmas that I grasp more completely that Jesus came for all mankind, not just those who look like me, behave as I do, have what I have (or more), or are otherwise pleasing to my way of thinking. I want to understand to the point of putting into action that Jesus came to "...save that which was lost" (Matthew 18:11). When Jesus returns, I want to have been found faithful, I want him to be able to put me in with the "sheep" who fed the hungry and gave the thirsty something to drink; who clothed those needing clothing and visited the sick and imprisoned (Matthew 25:31-46).

I am thankful for all my material blessings, but I want to possess a heart full of thanksgiving for the gift of a Savior, for the promise of eternal life. I want to be so transformed in my thinking that every day I will be submitted to serve the One who came to serve. For me, if I can become that person, I will have come to understand Christmas and will celebrate it each day. I will have received the greatest gift ever!

Mary Did You Know - Mark Lowry

Heavenly Father, thank you for unconditional love and your desire to so want us to be restored to your family that you made the ultimate sacrifice - the gift of your son Jesus, his life, that we might be saved and spend all eternity with you. I pray that each day I will celebrate by seeking to serve you and others, to give back for all you have given me.