Loving People One Step Closer?

Let’s just be honest…  most of us think of serving Christ… more in terms of benefit than cost.  I  like forgiveness and salvation as much as the next Christian and especially when attending services or class or life group doesn’t conflict with something else on my calendar.  However, that’s an incomplete view. Here are three verses that describe serving more as God see’s it.

· Moses, though known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter “ chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin…” (Heb 11:25). He had no idea that at 40 he had 40 more years of brutal preparation to serve famously.

· Jesus “being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:6-7). The most famous lived the least famous.

· “If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name…  those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Peter 4 16,19).  Yeah, this won’t be on Insider Hollywood this week...

 It’s easier to see ourselves used of God to love people closer when it’s fun! Like when people are grateful for our efforts. Maybe we prefer to be the quarterback  who sneaks the ball into the end zone, and bows and points to God. All of those things are wonderful, but Scripture is filled more with the less well known folks who witnessed more in HOW THEY DID LIFE AND ITS DIFFICULTIES than with any expressions of famous folks.

I’m reading a book called  “Not A Fan” which is quite challenging to those of us who know Christ. The basic question is, are we fans — who show up when it’s convenient and pleasant and when we look to be winning only? Or are we FOLLOWERS, committed to Christ… even if he wants to use difficulty in our lives to love people one step closer to Him. Christ never asked for FANS but he called us on to be FOLLOWERS.