“Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.” Psalm 100:2………….
“If you need more help, you know where we’ll be,” two of my homeless friends essentially told me just hours after volunteering their time folding Gospel tracts and devotionals in the little park where they sleep.
If you read my message yesterday about them, you know one of them has not yet turned from her sins and placed her trust in Jesus Christ as Lord. The other says he believes in the Lord but does not seem to be following Him. Yet there they were just hours after serving Him through helping me letting me know they wouldn’t hesitate to continue helping.
How humbled I am not merely by the fact they helped once, but by the position of humility in which they remained. Willingness. Cheerfulness. Thanksgiving. Not moaning and groaning at the prospect of doing such simple labor with no pay. Not complaining that they live outside and would have to sit on a hard park bench in the August weather to do the work. Just being kind and helpful.
Do you suppose Jesus wants to be served by people whose hearts are filled with complaining, with thoughts of “I don’t want to do this!” or “I have better things to do!” or “Can’t someone else do this work?” or “I’m too good for this silly stupid work?” Do you suppose Jesus wants to be served with an attitude of, “I’ll do this because it’s quick and easy” or “I’ll do this because it’s a good way to meet new people and hang out with friends” or “This will make me feel good about myself so I can justify going on that luxurious vacation next month”?
Oh, of course we’re human. Yes, we have fleshly thoughts. We all fall short, don’t we? We do have thoughts, words, and actions we need to seek His forgiveness for and purge from our hearts and lives. But do we ever give serious thought to having hearts – motives, attitudes, thoughts, etc. – that would greatly please the Lord when we serve Him?
Willingness. Cheerfulness. Thanksgiving. Humility and love. A good starting place, don’t you think? To this I aspire. Do you?