Why?

Written by cycleguy on July 15th, 2014

This is not a post on asking the question “Why?” when something goes wrong.

It really isn’t a post about motives (although that certainly can be included). I know I have been one of many who have voiced the question of “Why do we do what we do?”

Let me just give you something to chew on for a few moments. I read this in “Creature of the Word.”

Jesus was saying (Matthew 20:25-28) that His followers are to serve others not because it’s the right thing to do, not because we’d feel guilty if we didn’t, not because somebody else suggested it, and not because ’causes’ are the vogue thing of the day. We serve because Jesus has served us. His service should melt our hearts and cause us to serve others out of sheer gratitude to Him. That’s the appropriate response to His loving service of us. Churches centered on Jesus continually remind their people of this.

Just want to know what you think. If you attend church, does your church do this? If so, how well?

 

12 Comments so far ↓

  1. Jeff says:

    I don’t attend church so I can’t answer the question. But I serve and I know a lot of people who serve for none of the reasons you mention and with no thoughts about Jesus. We serve because it’s the right thing to do. A lot of people know this without any religious references. I also know a lot of people that don’t serve and a lot of them are church members. So go figure.

    • cycleguy says:

      it’s obvious my (and this) comment were geared toward those who do go to church. But you do state something which is true Jeff. Many serve without having any religious frame of reference. I applaud that. I don’t applaud those who call themselves church-going people and won’t look past their own nose to help.

  2. Daniel says:

    I was talking to my pastor today a bit about serving others. I noted that I used to be better at this than I am today and I wanted to be more mindful of this as I move forward. Your post adds nicely to my thinking on this.

    • cycleguy says:

      Glad I could help Daniel. We all have “lulls” in our actions. Maybe God will stir you to serve more in the future.

  3. Hi Bill,

    Good reminder. I’ve always loved the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, because it starts off with a verse to the effect of “Jesus, knowing who he was and where he was going, took off his robe and began washing his disciples’ feet.” And that’s where our sense of service comes from too, I believe. Knowing, as you said, how much Jesus has served, loved, and rescued us, and that we are humbly broken yet loves creations, kids of his, and that he calls us his masterpieces and ambassadors frees us up to serve others so freely and unconditionally too.

    Love that,
    Jennifer Dougan
    http://www.jenniferdougan.com

    • cycleguy says:

      The story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet is a classic illustration Jennifer. Glad you brought that up. Like Him, we need to learn to serve and love unconditionally. Thanks.

  4. Andy says:

    Interesting Exerpt.

    Oddly enough, the Church we currently attend seems to do this well, but I am too new to know the ends and outs.

    A comment though on the paragraph above would be that whether its Church service, neighbor service, family service, biblical study etc the world has become so busy and pulls our attention so much that its a constant battle to have your priorities where they truly need to be.

    When it comes to helping, I personally try to follow a Army unit I am familiar with’s motto : “DEEDS NOT WORDS” And I don’t always get that right either!

    • cycleguy says:

      You hit the nail on the head, Andy, with your busy comment. Times have changed and so many feel so strung out it is hard for them to look outside their own window. Hopefully the church you are now attending can show itself to be true to this standard. 🙂

  5. the Old Adam says:

    Whenever our pastor tells us how we ought love others because Jesus loved us first…he is using God’s law to accuse us. To expose us.
    Because none of us loves others the way we ought to. And if we think that we are ganging points for our acts of love then it is like the cow who gives a good bucket of milk…and then kicks it over.

    But Jesus yet loves us…in spite of our poor efforts…not because of them.

  6. floyd says:

    That’s the heart of our leadership at the church I attend and my family and I try to live by the same standards. All we are and all we have is for His service and our calling…

  7. We do serve. I kind of feel like that is just the minimum requirement for life in general. The question is the church going beyond the minimum?