Taking Action in the Form of Service

 

When I consider the men and women I have known throughout my life who have manifested the profound, desperate joy that I am seeking they have certain qualities in common.  Three key ones are commitment, service and sacrifice.  In the previous post we discussed this idea of commitment, and how important it is to lay aside unhealthy commitments, and to be fully committed to Christ.  We cannot find joy unless our hearts are fully committed to Christ, He is our first and final source of joy. 

Commitment is just the first step, commitment must be followed up by action and this action takes the form of service.  A bride and groom may make profound commitments to each other on their wedding day, but if that is not followed up by daily acts of service for each other, that commitment will gradually fall apart.  If we are committed to Christ, that will manifest itself in our lives as service, and in that service we will find joy.  

When Christ calls us to follow Him, He is calling us to a life of service.  He said in Matthew 11:29-30 "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  A yoke is a device fitted around the neck and shoulders of a beast of burden, no doubt Jesus had in mind a pair of oxen linked together by this yoke.  Together, the oxen would pull a plow or a wagon, or anything else that needed pulling.  When Jesus calls us to join him in this yoke, He is calling us to work, to labor, to stand shoulder to shoulder with Him and strive for a common goal, but He says, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."  The service God calls us to will be challenging, but there is lightness, gladness and joy in it because Christ Himself is helping us every step of the way. 

The reality is that we will always be yoked to something, we will be serving something.  In the days when I was addicted to porn, I was actually serving porn, I was laboring at it.  I was in the yoke with addiction, pulling away, accomplishing nothing but digging myself into a hole of misery and death.  Hour upon hour I worked, clicking away, wasting away, laboring in futility.  At first the addiction was easy, it was just fun and games.  It feels good, there is harm in it, right?  But as the addiction grew, it consumed more and more of my life.  It promised me to make my load lighter, but in the end it made it heavier.  It promised delight, but only brought me pain. It promised life, but only brought death.  I was locked in a heavy, iron yoke that I could not escape.  I had chosen to labor in the wrong yoke. 

We are all going to work and labor at something.  We can choose to take up Christ's offer, to join Him in his yoke, or we can choose the yoke of this world, the yoke of greed, lust and pride.  In Christ's yoke we may find it stifling and confining at first, we may yearn to be free.  But if we stay with Him, we will find that His promise is true, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  If we seek only to satisfy our cravings, we may feel free at first, liberated to do as we please, but the more we indulge our lust, the more our lust grows, becomes stronger and begins to enslave us. 

When we commit ourselves to service for Christ, we find freedom from lust and pride, and He gives us deep, abiding blessing.  Again, Jesus says, 

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in?  Or naked and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:34-40) 

Jesus teaches us that the economy of Heaven is much different than the economy of this world.  The world tells us that we must fight for our rights, it is every man(or woman) for himself.  We are told happiness is found in pursuing our own interests and passions, by fulfilling our own desires.  "Follow your bliss." is the mantra, not, go an serve others.  But Jesus says, "If you want joy, lay aside your own ambitions and serve others."  Joy is found in pursuing the heart of God, and the heart of God is bent on serving others.  

Jesus encourages us to reach out and help "the least of these".  The truest form of service is when we choose to help those who can do nothing for us in return, who have no means to pay us back.  And this is where we find the greatest joy, in freely giving of ourselves to those who cannot possibly give anything in return.  This is how Christ lived, He did not come to be served, but to serve.  He offered Himself as a sacrifice for the world, and when we follow His example He will fill our hearts with joy.