Why Do We Need the Church? Serving One Another

Galatians 5:13 - 14

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Impact.

It’s a strong word. Webster’s online dictionary shares this definition: “the force of impression of one thing on another; a significant or major effect.” 

Who has “been a force of impression” on your life?  What circumstances have made a “major effect” to mold who you are, what you do, and how you think? 

Some people and events in life have an impact on us, many times changing the direction of our lives or thinking forever. That very thing happened to me - and the trajectory of my life was forever changed!

At 15, I sensed God’s calling to vocational ministry and surrendered to that call at a church camp. But like most people in that stage of life, I had no idea how this calling would play out in terms of education or experience. 

I began to pray about college. Just up the road from my hometown of Memphis, TN was a small Christian university that offered a degree to prepare me for church ministry. So I began to investigate, research, and pray about how I might attend there. 

The possibility of me attending this school was a long shot. This private school was expensive and the resources for me to attend college were slim. I had a job, but what I brought home would not even come close to funding my enrollment at this university. So I ramped up my prayer life, seeking God for help. 

That is when the lesson of serving others became real to me. One afternoon in January of 1981, the pastor of my church called and asked to see my parents and me. Just before I left for work, he dropped by the house. I will never forget that day. In short, he told us that someone had asked him to inform us that my tuition, room, and board for all four years of college had been paid. WHAT?  Yes - you read that right.  ALL. FOUR. YEARS.  

The person asked to remain anonymous, and to this day, I still do not know who gave this IMPACTFUL gift.  But I can tell you, it changed everything for me.  And I also know this: this person chose to serve God by serving my family with this gift.

What is service?

Did you know that the Bible's definition of service is the word “slave”? That word is repulsive to us. We recoil at the idea of being a slave to another person. We resist the idea of one person buying or owning another person. And we should. Slavery is indeed repulsive. Even the word sounds awful. 

However, when the Bible says in Galatians 5:13, “serve one another,” it means to “be enslaved to one another.” The Bible is not talking about forcing authority on another person. This kind of service is not forced. Serving one another as a Christian is a humble act of submitting to one another because we love God and are surrendered to Him. 

The person who paid my college expenses chose to do so of his own free will. He didn’t serve out of compulsion or response to a request. He gave from the posture of gratefulness to God which produced a desire to serve God. He served with a heart to be used by God to help me. I was simply the recipient of his service and act of kindness. 

All I really know about this person (or couple) is that he was a member of the church that I attended. Let me say it this way, they saw me; I did not see them. And so even though I benefited from the gift, his service was unto the Lord. God was honored, glorified, and served through this unselfish gift.

Not a title to serve - but a HEART to serve!

Why do we need the church? We need the church so we can express our love for God by serving others. How are you serving God and others today? Sometimes people serve in a formal position in the church, like serving on a committee or as a leader. However, we don’t need a title to serve; we need a heart to serve. 

Serving others might look like preparing a meal for someone in need, mowing a lawn, visiting with someone in the hospital or at their home, helping with childcare needs, surprising someone with groceries at their door, giving advice or counsel, or even as simple as a phone call or a text to let someone know they are seen and loved.  And there may even be someone in your church who needs college tuition or financial help!

When you take the time to see the ones around you through a heart to serve, you will become a blessing while you even receive a blessing!