MANY of us have the mistaken notion that as long as we attend a weekly Sunday worship service, we are spiritually fulfilled. This is not so. We were created by a God who loves us. But in return we are to serve God. To give Him full glory. By sharing unceasingly the "good news’’ (that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures, to pay the full price for our sins), serving others unselfishly, and leading Godly lives by obeying God’s Words in the Holy Bible.
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God created us with no duplicates, with abilities to do certain things, although many people give a common excuse as follows, "I do not have any skill/ability to offer.’’ In the Book of Psalms 139:14, we find the psalmist saying: "I praise You (God) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’’ Do you realize that a small speck of protoplasm, tinier than a pinpoint which cannot be perceived by the human eye called the gene can reproduce the peculiar physical characteristics of your parents and fashion you to look like them? A scientist once said that if all the genes in the earth were gathered, a thimble could hold all of them!
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We were shaped/designed the way we are to serve our Lord God. Meaning that each of us has a particular role to play. As the rich and righteous Job said: "Your (referring to God) hands shaped me and made me… Remember You molded me like clay.’’ (Book of Job 10:8-9). Also in Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’’ It’s about servanthood. Meaning that we serve our Lord God by serving others. Unfortunately, in our secular world, what is being highlighted is leadership and not servanthood. Just go to bookstores and you will find plenty of books on leadership. Only a few books, if ever, on servanthood. This situation is ironic indeed. This is, however, understandable since servanthood is not a popular concept.
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One may ask: Can we delegate and deputize our basic mandate to serve our Lord God? Like sharing the good news? Or sharing our blessings with others? Or obeying our Lord God by "substitution?" The answer is "no." No ifs. No buts. No conditions. This means too that we cannot deputize somebody to read the Holy Bible in our stead; otherwise, we would not know God’s Words which we should be obeying. Otherwise there would be no personal relationship between us and our Lord God.
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From the Biblical account, we can see that even "misfits" are in God’s service. We see Moses leading the Israelites in their escape from Egypt, despite, the fact that he had a stuttering speech defect. Because Moses obeyed God. We also see Abraham, old in age, still serving God – and obeying God’s order to kill his only son Isaac and offering him as a burnt offering. Abraham was tested and Isaac was not killed. When Abraham took the knife to kill his son, our Lord God said: "Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." (Genesis 22:12), King David who committed adultery and even had the husband of his mistress killed and who had a variety of family problems had one saving grace – he repented for his sins and was fully obedient to our Lord God. In the Old Testament books (like 1Kings and 2Kings), there are verses which (like "for the sake of David… ") show how much our Lord God loved King David. There were prophets too who had queer and eccentric ways (like Jonah, Elijah, and Jeremiah) – but they served our Lord God. Even temperamental Peter served our Lord. I could go on and on to cite other cases of misfits in the Bible – and yet they served our Lord God. Yes, our Lord God will use us too, if we stop making excuses and joyfully without reservation, serve Him. Regardless of our jobs, regardless of our age, regardless of our shortcomings, regardless of our finances, regardless of our health, we can offer our full-time service to our Lord God. It’s time now to be serious and make an inventory of our time that it being used in the service of God.
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What I am trying to say is that for Christians, service to our Lord God is not an option. It is not just sharing the Word of God. It is also serving others with joy – meaning sharing love and our blessings with others.
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This column continues to give out copies of the Holy Bible for free to those who cannot afford to buy their own copies. If interested, please send your letter-request to Ms. Nelly Favis Villafuerte, 6th Floor, New Solid Building, 357 Sen. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City. Kindly mention if it is the Tagalog, English, Cebuano, or Ilocano version that is preferred.
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This column is also giving out for free a 42-page 3x5 inch booklet that briefly explains the said doctrine of salvation presented in the Holy Bible. To those who are struggling as to what the Holy Bible really says on how souls can be saved from eternal damnation, please do not hesitate to write and ask for a copy of this booklet. Let us not forget the Biblical verse that says "What profits a man if he gains the whole world and losses his soul?’’
Have a joyful day!
