“Let my people go, so that they may serve me.” (Exodus 8:1)
These words came from God through Moses to Pharaoh when God was getting ready to free His people from bondage in Egypt. God was setting His people free from slavery in order that they would worship and serve Him. What was true thousands of years ago is still true today – we have been saved to serve.
Now many in the church today have messed up this biblical truth. Instead of understanding we have been saved for service, they believe they are saved by service. This, of course, is a false gospel rooted in our merit, not God’s mercy. Salvation is all of God. There is nothing we do to get saved. But after God saves us, we are not called to serve the One who has set us free from the bondage to sin, Satan, and death. We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God through service. And in the most practical sense of understanding the truth that we have been saved to serve, we are to live lives of sacrificial service to others – all others – regardless of cost or circumstance.
We have blessed to be a blessing. We have been healed to help. We have been saved to serve. This is the call for every child of God, not just those who are in vocational ministry like pastors and missionaries. Every Christian is in “full-time” Christian service, regardless of what profession they have chosen. The butcher, baker, and candle-stick maker all are called to serve their Savior. A “non-serving” Christian is a contradiction in terms of gargantuan proportions.
Remember, as you continue growing and maturing in your faith, keep in mind that your maturity is always for ministry. As Jesus said, “He came to serve, not be served,” and the same must be said about those who are His disciples. Is your life reflective of the truth that you have been saved to serve? Where are you serving right now? Where might God be calling you to serve today?
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 