"God is not a vending machine..." - these were the words my pastor spoke a few months ago in a sermon about serving God and others. I still remember them as if the sermon was last night....they definitely struck a chord with me.
With the New Year comes a host of resolutions and goals..."I want to lose 10 kilograms.", "I want to make more time for friends.", "I want to get a balance between work and my private life."...and although these are all good, this year I felt extremely challenged to changed my whole approach to things in general.
A few weeks ago, while at LIV Village on outreach, I felt a great weight placed on my heart. Being an architecture student I found very little time to do anything else but work. Time and time again I'd pray for God to give me the strength to push through my troublesome studies. Night after night I'd ask him to help me with this or that - but I never thanked Him for all the blessings that He poured over me day after day. I rarely praised His glorious Name. It was all about me. me. ME! "God is not a vending machine..."
For a while I felt like I was living a rather selfish existence...God has called us to serve others, yet time and time again I placed work above God and above other people. That night at LIV everything changed...I was reading Matthew and I came across Matthew 23:11 which states: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." I realised that I was placing a lot of emphasis on "achieving" so much in my studies that, not only was I neglecting those around me, but I was neglecting my Loving Father! For a ling time I was just focusing on the here and now. I forgot about the bigger picture. I was so focused on being "successful" by worldly standards. I was not seeing my life through the eyes of eternity...
On numerous occasions in the Bible we are told to serve God and serve others. I mean just look at the life of Jesus!! He is the Son of God, Maker of the Heavens and Earth, yet He came down to serve US!? What an incredible, amazing, confusing, scandalous thought!! It hardly makes any sense....
It is my prayer and challenge for everyone to truly LOVE one another this year. That we will put others' needs above our own. We are called by our God to serve one another.
"Don't just pretend to love others. REALLY love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, keep on praying. WHEN GOD'S PEOPLE ARE IN NEED, BE READY TO HELP THEM. Always be eager to practice hospitality." - Romans 12:9-13
Peace and Love
A
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