What does it mean to serve God?
We are getting so close to heading out on our mission trip to Argentina and God has begun to impress on my heart what the true meaning of service is. As I was praying this morning God reminded me of a scripture from Matthew on service.
"But when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all the nations: and He shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 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 hungry, and ye gave me to eat; 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 hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked , and clothed thee? and 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 did unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.'" Matt 25:31-40 NAS
The passage goes on to state that the goats were the people who did not take care of those in need and they were sent to the eternal fire. So the Bible is very clear that we are to serve those in need, but as I was praying on this I saw something more. When Jesus told the sheep that He had set aside that they were the righteous ones they asked Him why. They wanted to know when they had served God in the manner in which He spoke. This showed me that they were not serving God for their glory, but for Gods glory.
This brings me to the heart of the matter. Where is my heart at when I am serving God? Do I serve Him so that I look good and that people will see me and say "good job?" Or am I serving God in secret not looking for recognition? When I think about my first moment in heaven am I thinking about all of that treasure I have stored up for myself or am I thinking about how glorious God is. The Bible says "When therefore thou doest alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, and the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you , they have received their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right had doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father who seeth all shall recompense thee." Matt 6:2-4
So now I search my heart and pray that I am not a goat, but as I go out to serve the Lord I am doing so to serve Him and not myself or others. I pray that I am open to do His will whether or not I am comfortable doing so, and I pray that I am able to set aside things I want to do if they will not bring glory to God. I pray for you too beloved that you pray this as well. May your service bring glory to God and may you not be a goat either.
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