Saturday, December 26

This is my desire…..

"The Holy Spirit will give you life that comes from Christ Jesus and will set you free from sin and death. The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ's body to condemn sin. He did this, so that we would do what the Law commands by obeying the Spirit instead of our own desires. People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life and peace." (Romans 8:2-6 CEV)

One of the elders of Mosaic A2 came up to me Thursday when we were attending the Christmas celebration at the Marriott in Ypsilanti and remarked how great it was that my family and I jumped in with helping out at church. I told him that I could not just sit in church; I had to be active in helping, in serving the congregation who by proxy has become my extended family. He said that he could tell the kids were into serving and did it with a servant's heart. Which leads to the visible proof of what I was teaching them as their father.

I have been thinking of that conversation, as is usually my wont to do and I wondered why I was uneasy about it. I wish that I had articulated myself better, for the basis of my servant desire is simply the undeniable fact that God sent His only Begotten Son, to earth as a baby boy to grow and live a life upon this planet among the entirety of humanity….to die upon a cross created by the sins of all humanity in the most cruelest of human inventions simply because of the relentless love He has for all of us; me, you and the depth of all of humanity. How can one NOT serve a God who is relentless in His pursuit of us? How can one NOT be hands-on in the living of the life Christ represented to each of us from birth to His death upon that cross?

How can you not give all of yourself in service to others? Not for the gain of personal satisfaction, recognition or fortune…..but rather because it is a need that is evident, a situation that craves resolution or a chance to respond to someone with the obvious love that Christ has shown each of us.

We are all freemen, free from sin and free from its only conclusion, death. How can we live in the evidence of bondage when we are no longer bound? By the intimate awareness of the enemy, who through his manipulation can make us deny our freedom, deny our release and refuse to accept the nature expression of the liberation of Christ in our lives? It is the only way.

He intimates us with thoughts of unworthiness, being unequipped or the creeping humanness of pride. He lies to us, telling us we don't have time, someone else will take care of it or it isn't appreciated by those who gain the benefits of the labor performed. We fill our week with worthy pursuits of work, family and friends to arrive at church on Sunday looking simply for the relaxation of sitting in our seats and being entertained by the pastor and the worship team. We don't want to miss out on our 'feeding', which the natural acceptance of being a servant would generate. We don't want to live on recordings but rather be in the moment of its generation.

Jesus lived in the moment, in service to others. He would redirect His efforts at the slightest provocation from someone's need or to prepare the ground for ministry.

How can we do anything less?