By: Amanda Douglas

As brothers and sisters in Christ, who are saved by Scripture alone, grace alone, and faith alone, what is the real need to serve? We have all we need in Christ and through Christ.

The simple answer is: because Jesus told us to. That’s it. Jesus says in Matthew 28:27-28: “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Not for glory. Not for riches. Jesus became a ransom for many, not for His gain, but for ours. If we are to “be a slave or a servant” to others, just as Jesus humbled Himself and served us through His suffering and death, we do that by lending a hand to our fellow neighbors.

We are saved through faith alone, grace alone, and Scripture alone. God doesn’t need anything from us. It is actually foolish for us to even think we can do anything pleasing in the sight of the almighty God. I imagine it would be like an ant gathering a speck of food on its back and offering it to me. What could I possibly do with that? Even the most muscular ant, able to lift a morsel the size of a large bread crumb, would have done nothing for me. It wouldn’t have nourished me. It wouldn’t have helped me build a home. Even if that poor ant used all its heart, soul, and mind to serve me, it wouldn’t have been enough.

We are unable to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves, as outlined in Matthew 22:37-40. We fall short. Only Jesus can do that. What we can do is love our neighbor. Our puny little ant selves can do nothing for God, but we can certainly help our neighbors build their ant hill or store food for the winter.

What I am saying is… how can we use our gifts and talents to love and serve the human beings set before us while on this Earth?

First, lets talk about this idea of a “neighbor”.

Who is Our Neighbor?

Our first and closest neighbors are those human beings who reside in our current household: a spouse, a roommate, a child, a sibling, a father, a mother. Second would be our extended family, friends, church workers, co-workers, and our literal neighbors. Last (but certainly not least) is the stranger. The wanderer on the street corner begging for money, the foster child, the person in line in front of you at the DMV. These (and more examples that I couldn’t possibly write out in this short article) are our neighbors.

What if We Don’t Like Them?

What if our relationship with our spouse is strained? What if our children get on our nerves? What if we fight with our extended family on Thanksgiving? Is that emotionally immature co-worker really my neighbor? The person on the street corner is probably begging because they spent their money on controlled substances. Who cares about them? The person in the lane next to me staring out their window, am I to love them too?

YES. Relationships matter.

We live in a fallen, sinful world. No one is perfect. No one has it all together. Our personal relationships—whether with our spouse, extended family, or co-worker—regardless of the situation, should be open to forgiveness. We forgive because God in Christ forgave us. Now, I know some relationships are beyond repair. This does not mean that we lose love for the person (or people). We simply love from afar. We pray for them. We hope that one day, we will see them in paradise, when sin is gone, and all relationships can be restored.

Now, as for those strangers…

I believe having an awareness that all people are created in God’s image changes our perspective on strangers. We don’t know what caused that person on the street corner to beg for handouts. What we do know is that we can pray sincerely for them to get the help they need. God knows what they need. Whether we give them a handout or wave as we pass by, it won’t change the fact that they are in need of something bigger than what can be obtained on a street corner.

What if They Aren’t Grateful?

So you try to be the bigger person. You pray for your spouse and decide that you will try everything you can to save your marriage. You try talking it out. You try acts of service. You try counseling. But he or she isn’t grateful. They don’t even seem to notice your efforts. In fact, when you bring up that you are trying to save the marriage, they scoff in your face. They don’t see anything you are doing as being really helpful. Why continue to love them? Why continue to serve them?

Side note: Of course, I am not referring to staying in a home with an abusive spouse. This made-up scenario is just a realistic example of a less-than-ideal marriage dynamic.

Anyways, in this scenario, being a loving spouse would be difficult for anyone. After the inevitable fight over their ungratefulness, let’s remember that, as Christians, we aren’t doing the saving in any situation. Upon reflecting on this scenario, I pray that your conclusion would be that despite anyone’s best intentions and efforts, no one can control another person’s actions. We can only continue to love, serve, pray, and let God do the rest.

When we pray for our spouses (as in this example), or our boyfriend or girlfriend, or our co-worker, etc., we pray that God’s will be done. In Philippians 4:6-7, St. Paul says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When we truly pray with a thankful heart (given to us by the Holy Spirit), in every circumstance, we can have peace knowing that God is in control. He changes our spouse. He changes our co-worker. He changes us. Maybe WE are the problem. Maybe our sinful nature wants praise for things we think we are doing for another, but in reality, we are just out to serve ourselves.

When we look at the question “What if they aren’t grateful?” from the perspective that only God can cause a grateful heart, maybe we won’t be as concerned about their gratefulness but rather our thankfulness to God, knowing that He is in control.

What if It Doesn’t Make Us “Feel Good”?

Our American culture likes to emphasize the love of self: self-care, self-love, self-esteem, believing in oneself. I think having an overall healthy sense of self-worth is good. However, when we dwell on ourselves and our feelings above others, that’s not a Godly approach. In Proverbs 3:5-6, it says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” Also, in Jeremiah 17:9, it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” We should not rely on our own feelings, whether good or bad. We are to trust in God and His word. So why love and serve our neighbor if it may not always make us feel happy and fulfilled?

As I stated at the beginning of this article: simply because Jesus told us to. Jesus, in His perfect and sinless life, served others, suffered, and died so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. Thanks be to God that we are not held to the same standards as Christ Himself. We fall short. We fail. Christ’s love for us is why we serve. Our love for Christ gives us the stamina to serve even when it’s not fun.

Eve’s Restoration Home will exist to “Provide Parenting Resources & Christ-Centered Spiritual Care in a Residential Setting, to Mothers Whose Children are Currently in Foster Care, Empowering Them to Rebuild & Reunite Their Families.” This will not be an easy task. Empowering mothers to rebuild and reunite their families will not be a walk in the park, but if we walk together, I pray we can all make a difference—one family at a time.

I will end with this:

“By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

— 1 John 3:16-18