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Children of God in Christ Jesus are not supposed to be passive members of churches. We are expected to be active disciples of Christ. To be an active Christian is to practically participate in ministry or serve by your gifts and talents.
Beyond willingly and freely giving offerings, we must all proclaim the gospel of Christ Jesus and serve one another by the specific gift and talent we have been endowed with. We must look unto God alone.
Joshua, an ancient Israel’s servant-leader, urges us to serve God. To serve God is to worship God alone. It is to do His will in sincerity and faithfulness. In doing His will, we see ourselves indirectly serving one another.
To do this, we must first learn to fear God, that is, to respect and honour Him. Also, we must refrain from devoting ourselves to other gods in our communities. We must give ourselves wholly to God without seeking supernatural help from other deities.
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).
As a true Christian living among unbelievers in a family, community or a country, you must resolve to serve the Lord. You must boldly make clear your intention to worship God alone when your friends, family members and others reject God.
Polytheism is evil in the sight of God. Jesus Christ spoke against it in Matthew 6:24 when He said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
It is also important for us to consider the manner in which we serve God. Many of us serve God, but are we serious about it? Are we sincerely committed and devoted to God? Do we really serve Him the way and manner He wants it?
There are two ways the Bible instructs us to serve or worship God. First, we must do so with our might. This means we must render our services to God with all our strength or energy while we are alive.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
Second, Jesus reminds us that, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24). To worship in Spirit and in truth is to serve God by the inspiration, motivation, leading or guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Remember God’s word is truth (John 17:17).
This means unless our acts of worship are motivated by the Spirit and the Word of God, they are not true and so they do not please God. We need, therefore, regularly read the Bible, mediate in it, apply it and be carried along by the Holy Spirit to serve.
When we serve God by the Holy Spirit, it will be characterised by the fruit of our regenerated spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
By James Quansah
