Being the hands of Christ and ministering to others

God saved you and me so that we would serve as examples to others of His love and mercy at work in and through a human life.

Many people seem to think the only reason for salvation is so that a person will go to heaven when he dies. Eternal life is part of God’s plan of forgiveness, but that’s not the sole reason for our salvation. God saved us so that we each might reflect His nature—that we might be His people on this earth, doing the kinds of works that Jesus Himself would do if He were walking in our shoes, through our world, during our lifetimes. He desires to manifest His character through our personalities and giftedness.

When we allow His Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to others, we become vessels of His love in action. We begin to reflect His compassion, love, and mercy to others. And in so doing, we become His witnesses.

God calls us to serve one another just as Jesus did. He didn’t save you or call you to service so that you might be exalted, praised, glorified, or put on a pedestal. He saved you so you could serve Him and others. When we do this, we honor Him with our lives. The most important thing you can do outside of accepting Christ as your Savior is to give your life to Him and allow Him to lead you each day.

Some mistakenly think that what we do is unimportant to God, but this is far from true. He has a plan for each one of us. When we make a decision to walk by faith, He will reveal it to us and that plan always includes service and dedication to Him and to those He brings into our lives.

God loved us so that we might love others. He blesses us so that we might bless others. That’s what the Christian life is all about.

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(Photo credit: Atlanta Journal-Constituition)

You might wonder what a newspaper photograph of a motor vehicle accident has to do with serving/ministering to others. What are the firefighters, EMTs, and tow truck operators doing? They are ministering to the driver's of the vehicles in their time of need.

As I was reading the passage at the top of the blog earlier today, and despite having been saved since I was 27, it had never occurred to me that our service to others was so intertwined with our salvation. It makes perfect since though because we are made in His likeness and what did he do? He served others.

Did you notice the emergency personnel seen impervious to the fact that the AJC photographer was making their picture? I guarantee they knew he/she was making their picture but, as the devotional told us, they weren't doing it for praise or notoriety, they were - through their service - honoring God.