The Joy of Ministering to People

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

1 Peter 4:10

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

 

One great joy we have as Christians comes through knowing that in our new life in Christ we serve God when we minister to people. In Deuteronomy 6:13 we are told to, “Fear the LORD your God, serve him only.” And in 1 Samuel 7:3 we are told to, “commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only.” These verses emphasize an important point to us as Christians. We are to fear our God, commit ourselves to Him and out of this respect, love and commitment — serve Him. The main way we serve God is by serving and ministering to people in need. Our focus in service is on the Lord directing our steps and giving us the power and strength to do so. When we accept Christ as Lord of our lives we begin a life of dedicated service to God. This service is lived out in ministry to people in need. People in need might be our own family members, friends and neighbors but they might also be strangers, customers, clients, and business associates. A person in need is waiting for a servant of God to use the talents and skills God has given them to intervene into their situation just like 1 Peter 4:10 tells us. God could use miracles to solve everyone’s problems all the time, but He has chosen to limit His divine action by giving us the privilege of ministering in His place. What an honor He has given us.

 

While serving God is commanded, we do so out of our love for our Lord. As we comprehend the greatness of what God has done for us it moves us to seek to serve others and show the same care and mercy God has shown towards us. Ministry is often fun and a great joy, but this doesn’t mean it’s always easy. It also doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer hardship and abuse at times when trying to serve God and others.

 

I remember in college I had a Native American friend. He was a brother in the Lord and we had many conversations about our own spiritual walk. He shared his concern over how he was treated as a Native American and admitted that he had a drinking problem. One night someone knocked frantically on my dorm room. I opened the door and they said that my friend needed help. Apparently he had gotten depressed and drunk himself into a stupor. He was outside the dorm in the parking lot yelling at the top of his lungs. I went over and tried to talk to him but he kept yelling obscenities and only responded to me in broken sentences with slurred speech. He smelled like a brewery. I tried to convince him that he needed to calm down and return to his room but he wouldn’t listen to reason. I gently grasped his arm to attempt to help him back in the dorm but he struggled with me. We wrestled a little bit but finally he passed out and fell over on the lawn. Luckily I was much bigger than he was and managed to pick him up and carry him back to his room and put him in his bed being careful to position him so he wouldn’t choke if he threw up. After he had slept off his hangover he came to me and apologized for his behavior. I quickly forgave him and said that I was just concerned about him. I advised him to pray about his behavior and addiction to alcohol and seek God’s strength and support to deal with the issues at hand. While it wasn’t pleasant to struggle with a drunken friend and have to haul him all the way to his room, it was a pleasure to serve him in his hour of need and therefore serve my God in the process. I did this out of love for my Brother in Christ just as it commands us in Galatians 5:13, which says, “serve one another in love.”

 

The main reason we serve God and others is not because we have to or because we are commanded to but because we love the Lord. The Spirit of God also motivates us to return such love by serving others. Romans 7:6 says, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” Under the Old Testament the Jews did good deeds and acts of kindness because it was simply the law and through this law they had hopes of pleasing God and obtaining righteousness. Through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection we are under grace now and we are empowered with a new motivation to serve. This new motivation comes from the Holy Spirit. Hopefully as Christians we daily, moment by moment, listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit to advise us, guide us and counsel us in ways of service and ministry. When we obey and follow the guidance of the Spirit we not only fulfill the command to serve our God, we also serve others in their need and receive the joy and benefits of experiencing something of what God experiences when He helps us. That possibly is why God has chosen to use His servants in ministry. He wishes to share with us the pleasure that is involved when service and ministry to others is carried out.

 

Recently I had another experience that I will never forget. An elderly lady of Mexican descent came to my Optometry office for an eye exam. She could speak no English and relied upon a translator to help with her respond in the examination. I was able to determine her prescription but she still could not see as well as I would have liked. I determined that her cataracts were causing her reduced vision so I referred her to an Ophthalmologist. She communicated through the translator that she wondered if there was anything I could do to help her see until her new glasses came. I told her to wait in the reception room while I looked to see if I could dig up any temporary glasses for her to use. I managed to find a pair of glasses in my discarded glasses box that seemed to be a close match to her reading prescription. I will never forget what happened next. I went over to where she was sitting and noticed her withdrawn expression and depressing frown. I gave her a magazine to hold and then placed the borrowed glasses on her face. A huge smile immediately appeared. I took the glasses off to adjust them and the frowning face reappeared. After some adjustment I placed the glasses back on her face and the huge smile appeared again. Then tears formed in her eyes and she leaned her head forward and kissed my hand. I almost cried myself. She made some comments in Spanish and the translator stated that she could read and these would help a lot while she waited for her glasses. 

 

Service to those in need, with the right heart and with a commitment to serving God results in growth as a Christian and sharing with God, the joys and pleasures of meeting the needs of those less fortunate. Many individuals serve others for self-gratification, for their own glory and attention, for recognition or for personal gain, but this is not the kind of service that is pure and holy before the Lord. Holy pure service is motivated by God’s Spirit and its source is from our love for the Lord. Ephesians 6:7-8 states, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does” Our reward is twofold from such service. We receive the blessings of helping others while we use our talents, skills, spiritual gifts, donate our material possessions and give of our time. But we will also receive a divine reward in heaven for living as God would have us live, in service to our fellow man. We may endure hardship, abuse and ridicule when we serve God by serving others, but our focus must always remain on the Lord. Our strength and power to serve comes not from our flesh, but from the power of the Holy Spirit. Our guidebook for how to minister comes from scripture. Our encouragement comes from others who serve by our side and through prayer to our Heavenly Father.

 

May God speak to your heart in how you can serve the One and Only God through serving those in need and ministering to their needs. It will be such a privilege for us to enter heaven and hear the words form the lips of Jesus Christ our Lord Himself,

 

“Well done, thy good and faithful servant.”