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The only right motivation for serving or obeying Christ Jesus is love. It sounds so simple and obvious; but we find it so very easy, and it appears so very natural, to serve for any and every reason other than love. We serve to earn blessing (or even salvation); to pay Jesus back, as though he’s not generous; to be noticed by others or be part of an in-crowd; we serve because we think Jesus needs us to, as though if we don’t serve, His mission will fall apart.
We serve for all kinds of reasons other than the only one which Jesus asks for, looks for, and is pleased by: love.
And when we serve in love, everything changes.
Think about an act of service for a moment, maybe something you do in church, at home or at work. Choose something repetitive—a way you serve others every day or each week. Now ask: If I do that act of service as a way to earn God’s love or blessing, or to impress others or be needed by others, what will it do to my heart? One of two things. It will fill your heart with pride, if you’re noticed or needed, or if you consider that now you have deserved God’s blessing. Or it will fill it with despondency or bitterness, if you feel you haven’t had the praise you deserve, or if God doesn’t do for you what you think He should.
Either way, you will not know love. Your heart will be hardened to God. That’s what any wrongly-motivated service does. We can be working hard for our church and in doing so hardening our hearts to the Lord of the church.
Now take that same act of service, and ask yourself: If I do this act as an expression of love for Jesus that is in my heart, what will it do to me? It will be joyful and satisfying (even if it’s hard and tiring). It won’t make any difference if it isn’t noticed or thanked, or change your standing before your Saviour. Your heart will simply love serving out of love for God. You’ll have experienced what it is to have an easy yoke.
This promises that you can find freedom and joy in your service. Service becomes something to cherish, rather than just a chore. It becomes an expression of love.
This has a fundamental implication. If your service of Christ has grown grudging (or stopped happening), you don’t need to try to obey more. You need to love more. This means that you don’t need to try harder; you need to ask your Father to send His Spirit to work in your heart to make you more loving. You need Him to work in you so that you increasingly enjoy the goodness of Jesus, appreciate the service of Jesus, and let Jesus recapture your heart with His love.
Then you’ll be able to serve Him and keep your joy.
This is an edited extract from Serving Without Sinking by John Hindley, out this week. Grab a copy for 15% off here.
Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.
