If you have been in church long enough, you have probably seen some of the most caring, compassionate, and gracious people that you have ever met. They are delightful in their service, genuine in their faith, and great examples to the young and the old, alike. They help you to see that God is good and that He has good things in store for us.
We ask ourselves, what is the trick? I can think of many people who have been great examples to me in the church. They have been all ages, backgrounds, personalities, and skill sets. They belong to different churches, have different education levels and career paths. But, they all have a few factors in common. They put faith and family in the forefront of all they do. They live out their faith at home, and raise their kids to do the same. Over the years, the messiness of life does not phase them. They let God work everything out by faithfully living their lives according to His instructions. As a result, they amazingly never lose their peace and joy.
The Bible tells us that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The same is true of our actions. Out the abundance of the heart, we can serve people. We never have to be lacking anything.
How do we become like those who give out of abundance? What if we do not believe we have the peace, joy, compassion, or care that others have to give? Well, the Bible tells us that what we sow, we reap. When we read and pray, we have more to give. Pastor Craig Cramer recently stated that only 17% of people in this country attend a Christian church service regularly (at least three times a month), and only 13% of those people read their Bibles daily! Wow. Just attending church and reading the Bible is a great start for having more to give!
Terri Savelle Foy encourages people to clean up at home first. We need to de-clutter our home, our minds, and our lives. We need to get rid of the mess so we can have more to offer. Part of cleaning up at home involves taking care of our family. God commands us to do so. If every Christian takes care of family first, there would be less stress on the church to take care of those in need. We can not take care of everyone, but we can take care of the people that God has placed in our lives.
Some of the happiest and most helpful people in the church are those who work alongside their families. Husband and wife. mother and daughter, brother and sister, parents and kids - it brings great joy to people to see families serving together. And, it brings joy to the families, as they know that God has blessed their faithfulness in serving one another. It is, also, much more fun and productive to care for your family and the church at the same time. To grow the church family, we need to serve as a family and embrace God's gift of family.
It is the example we set before people and the care we provide that allows us to be a blessing. We can be a delight and a joy to God's people, just as others have done for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment