Serving With God's Love

The following blog is a summary of a message preached by Pastor Eddie Lawrence.

Watch the Sermon HERE!

We live in a culture that makes it increasingly popular to hate people. But Jesus calls us into something radically different. He calls us to love, to serve, and to give. If you've ever wondered what it looks like to truly follow Jesus in everyday life, it starts with understanding why He came and how that changes the way we treat everyone around us.

Why Did Jesus Come? Not to Be Served, But to Serve

Jesus made His purpose clear in the Gospel of Mark:

"For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." - Mark 10:45

If the Lord of Glory came to serve, then serving isn't just a church program or an obligation to check off a list. It is the very identity of Christ in us. When we serve others out of love, we are manifesting Jesus to the world.

What Compels a Christian to Serve?

The answer is not guilt, duty, or obligation. It is love. Paul puts it plainly:

"For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Because Jesus gave everything for us, we no longer live just for ourselves. We live for the sake of others. The world's ladder of success says to get as many people serving you as possible. Jesus flips that completely. His measure of success is how many people you can serve.

Serving With God's Love Starts at the Cross

You cannot manufacture the kind of love that Jesus calls us to on your own. Agape love, the unconditional, sacrificial, Christ-centered love that can move through hostility and still choose kindness, that only comes from an encounter with Jesus at the cross.

"We love Him because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

It is important to never lose sight of who you were before you met Christ. All of us have sinned. All of us were wired toward pride, envy, jealousy, and self-preservation. But when Jesus comes in, He begins changing those things so that love becomes what naturally flows out of us.

Think of it this way: what is in the well comes up in the bucket. When circumstances squeeze you, what comes out? The goal is that when life puts pressure on you, Jesus comes out.

A Story About a Parking Lot and a Life Changed

There was a man named Sam who came to faith later in life. He didn't know much theology, but he knew Jesus had done something incredible for Him and He wanted to share that love. So he volunteered to help in the church parking lot on rainy Sundays, walking people from their cars to the building with an umbrella.

One Sunday, he approached a car parked in a guest space. He didn't know the man inside had been contemplating ending his life that week. The pain in his marriage had become unbearable. On what felt like a whim, he decided to visit a church he had been driving past.

Sam tapped on the window, the man cracked the door, and Sam looked at him with a big smile and said, "I'm so glad you're here today."

That man later shared his testimony. He said when Sam smiled and spoke those words, the hard shell around his heart broke off. He couldn't wait to get inside. That day, he heard the gospel and gave his life to Jesus.

You never know what God can do through a simple act of kindness.

Serving With Love Means Seeing People, Not Just Tasks

Paul writes in Galatians, "Through love serve one another." He doesn't just say serve. He says through love. That qualifier matters.

It is possible to serve without love. You can slam a plate down on a table. You can take out the trash with a huff and a slammed door. That is service without love. Jesus calls us to something deeper.

Jesus said:

"Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." - Matthew 25:40

Serving people is like serving Jesus. That changes everything about how we approach it.

Many people have been hurt in church because someone made them feel that where they sat was more important than who they were. Your task can never be more important than the people your task was designed to serve.

Two Bricklayers, Two Perspectives

Imagine two workers building a church. One is focused on the heat, the heavy bricks, and the hard work. He can't wait for quitting time. The other is laying the same bricks but sees something different. He sees the people who will walk through those doors, hear the gospel, and have their lives changed.

Same task. Completely different perspective. That is what it looks like to serve through love. You see the people, not just the work.

Every person you meet who doesn't know Jesus is simply pre-saved. Keep that in mind. You may be the Sam with the umbrella in their story.

Serving With God's Love Unlocks the Power of the Holy Spirit in You

Peter writes:

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." - 1 Peter 4:10

Every believer has received something from God. And there is a stewardship involved in what you do with it. The word "manifold" here is like a variegated plant, a patchwork quilt, a collection of things that are all the same but beautifully different. God's grace manifests differently in each of us.

Think of yourself as a water hose. On one end, the faucet is open and grace is flowing in. On the other end, there is a nozzle. The supply side stays full when you stay humble, stay in prayer, and keep your heart open to God. But the purpose of that supply is so you can open the other end and release it to others.

Pride turns the faucet off. Bitterness, gossip, and judgment restrict the flow. But humility and openness keep grace moving through you and out to the people around you.

A Kleenex, a Bottle of Water, and a Broken Heart

An older usher at a church noticed a man sitting alone in the back during worship. He saw a tear form in the corner of the man's eye. Quietly, he walked over with a bottle of water and some tissues and said simply, "I don't know what your burden is, but the Lord loves you and He's got this."

That man gave his life to Christ that day. Earlier that week, his son had died. He was alone, broken, and overwhelmed with grief. That small, sensitive act of love cracked something open in him.

Sometimes the smallest acts of service, a smile, a word, a moment of noticing someone, can change the entire direction of a person's life.

Life Application

This week, look for one specific opportunity to serve someone with intentional love. Not just to complete a task, but to genuinely see the person in front of you. It might be a coworker, a neighbor, a stranger in a parking lot, or someone in your own home. Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight someone who needs to feel seen and loved, and then act on it.

Before you do, ask yourself these questions:

• Am I serving out of love, or am I just going through the motions?
• When life squeezes me this week, what is actually coming out?
• Is the supply side of my life open? Am I staying humble and connected to God so His grace can flow through me?
• Who around me might be "pre-saved," and how can I reflect Jesus to them this week?

Jesus did not come to be served. He came to serve. And because He lives in us, that same heart is available to every believer. Let the love flow.