December 26, 2008

Serve In Humility

“For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, [being] many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Romans 12:3-5 NKJV)

Paul has dealt extensively with the relationship of Jew and Gentile to the promises of God. Now he turns his attention to individuals of the church. God has given everyone in the church a measure of faith, and it is that individual’s responsibility to do his part in the body without despising the other parts.

Pride is a terrible sin that serves to destroy the unity of brotherly love. “By pride comes nothing but strife . . . .” (Proverbs 13:10 NKJV)

We need each other because we are a body in Christ. Paul will speak more about this relationship as he goes on, but think about that picture for a moment. You wouldn’t say for a moment, “I don’t need my hand.” Yet we often discount the importance of some members in the church by thinking, “What I do is more important than what that person does.”

We all need to guard against this attitude by having a servant’s heart. Say, “I am here to serve others.” God will be well pleased with us if we have this attitude because God wants us to love our brethren.

You know, we have a tendency to make the things that we are involved with more important in our minds. I guess that is natural since we invest ourselves into our projects, which we wouldn’t do if we thought they were unimportant. However, in a way, everything we do under the sun is just grinding gears to provide us opportunities to glorify God. Therefore, be careful not to think too highly of yourselves because God needs nothing from us. He will accomplish His will with or without our participation. Therefore, remember, "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Amen.