Thursday, September 04, 2008

Notes for Sunday September 14, 2008

Read: Ephesians 5:1-20 Tool Time: Service

Your service to others is a light to the world. By serving, we offer grace which shows the love of God in action. To serve is to love. To serve the stranger is to love even the unlovable. When we do not choose who we are serving we offer the non-judgment of Christ Jesus.

Serving may be the last lesson learned in the life of a disciple. We can gather and have it be about us, our relationship, and our need being met. We can grow and still it is our maturity, our focus toward life which changes. However, when we sacrificially serve, without reservation, our focus becomes the good of the whole, the life of the body. It is no longer we who live and work, but Christ who lives in us. Service, more than any other of the tools of discipleship, may offer maturity in Christ.

Paul shares we should walk as children of the light. We are to expose the darkness by shedding light, the goodness of God upon the world. He says this like we are asleep and then wake up to a new day of new possibilities. Christ will be our light; we need not worry or be confused.

Serving acts as a light. Serving illumines the path toward the kingdom of God. Why work in the dark, stubbing our toes, stumbling on the uneven ground, when all we need is a little light for the journey. What did Bob Dillon sing about in the 60’; “You got to serve somebody.” You know light when you see it, so does the world. Why not let your light shine?

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