Luke 12:48: “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” “It hit me like a ton of bricks,” Edouard reflects. “All of a sudden, it was as if the Lord was showing me all He had given me—from being born in a family that could afford education to hearing the gospel message at a young age to taking part in all of these leadership experiences. God had given me so much.” With a deep sense of privilege, Edouard sought a way to give back to his nation. As he prayed about his next steps, he believed that education and church planting were the best ways to help shape the future of Haiti.— Gift of Disillusionment
We feel ourselves gravitate away from courageous, outward-leading compassion. We subtly succumb to the inward pull when we decide our organizations should prioritize their institutional well-being over the people served. We stop risking, wanting to play it safe. We more overtly succumb when we pursue power, platform, and privilege instead of sacrifice and service. But children of God have always been called to focus outward: to seek the welfare of the places we inhabit and the people we encounter. To serve rooted in our experience and understanding of God’s grace rather than our own strength. Focusing outward without looking upward inevitably leads to cynicism, burnout, and stagnation. Our service cannot sustain our hope; our hope in Christ sustains our service. - Gift of Disillusionment
some people are not sure if they are able to serve God or not. They say they want to, but are not sure that they can. The question is not, “Can I do it?” The question is “Have I decided to do it?” A man named Joshua in the Bible decided and made an announcement to the nation of people he was leading: But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
The confusion to know what customer to serve is the confusion of which God to serve. Love is the only service that gives for the sake of giving. There is only one god. It has six billion faces, and one beating heart. When you love, you serve. For service is love and love is God.