When I was younger, one of my favorite Christian musicians was Keith Green. It wasn’t his piano playing or musical abilities that I connected with. It was his passion for Christ. He truly was serving the Lord Christ. In one of his songs, entitled, “The Sheep and the Goats”, he tells the story found in Matthew 25:31-46. The way that he tells the story made me fall in love with this passage. I particularly love the part where it reads:
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’.
Later, Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).
You are Serving the Lord Christ
It could not be more plain. When you serve, you are serving Jesus. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me”. It’s easy to forget that, especially when the sacrifice involved is greater than you had anticipated, or greater than the commitment that you were willing to make.
What is Your Motive in Serving?
If your thinking is results oriented, you are missing the point. In other words, if you are serving for the purpose of seeing results, your thinking is off. Servants find joy in serving whether they see results or not, because they know that as they serve, they bring honor to the Lord. It’s all about him, not about us. Joy is found in serving, not in the results of having served. This requires us to look honestly at our own motives. In fact, it’s probably good idea to ask someone close to you that that can see things objectively, one who is not afraid to tell you what they see in you. . . . . like your spouse, or best friend. Jesus’ motif was to bring honor to the Father. He stayed his focus on that one mission.
The Key is to Think like a Servant
Developing a servant mindset does take time. I’m still developing this mindset and I want to for the rest of my life. I’ll be writing more on this later, but in short, you become what you think about. The more we think of others first, the more we will invest in the lives in others. Always remember, you are serving the Lord Christ.