What can I do for God?

My phone rang at dinner time. A scared voice announced, ‘Me and my friends got no place to sleep tonight. Belvidere (the county welfare office) blew us off. Can you help us, father?’ I drove to where these young adults stood in the rain, cold and miserable, and took them to a local motel where I was able to secure a room for them. They had not eaten all day, so I bought them a couple of pizzas. Driving home I mused about their situation. Sure, they were warm and fed for one night, but they had greater needs for loving guidance, for help with life skills. I’ll probably spend some more time with them today to see if there is a way to point them in the right direction.

Cynics might say that getting involved with those that society has written off as ‘losers’ is a waste of time. I’m not naïve and know that I get ‘used’ by people looking for a quick fix to problems they have created for themselves by sinful or unwise decisions. But, my rule is one Jesus taught, "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:30-31, NIV) To me, this is ministry that is just as important as preaching the sermon in church on Sunday morning. It is a point where the Gospel of Christ becomes more than an idea! It happens because I am available and willing to participate in His work.

The one question I am asked by God’s people more than any other is “what can I do for God?” Further conversation usually reveals that the inquirer is looking for a ministry role, something to do in church work. I am so very thankful that they want to help with teaching or music ministry or leadership. However, ‘doing for God’ doesn’t need my blessing, nor does it require holding a position in the church’s structure of ministries. We all can do His work and will have plenty to do, if we open our eyes, pay attention to the people around us, and are willing to love. One day, after He had engaged a sinful woman at a well in Samaria, bringing her to a moment of heart change, Jesus urged his friends to change their perspective. Instead of thinking God’s time and God’s work was in another time and place, He said, "I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!" (John 4:35, The Message)

Want to do God’s work? His only requirement is availability. That’s not as easy as it sounds! It’s not an activity for the occasional evening. It’s a way of life birthed in a prayer that says, “Lord, here I am. Use me.” He won’t wait until it’s convenient to call on us. He won’t let us only do His work when we have time, or wait until we have ‘enough’ (whatever that is), or choose to work in the way that we think is fun or attractive to our personality. He calls us to serve, with no reserve.

There is no joy that is greater than becoming a participant in the work of the Lord, right where you are. Having the privilege of praying with someone whose heart is broken, of giving a meal to someone who is hungry, of sharing the hope of new life in Christ with someone who is hopeless – is to feel the smile of your Father in Heaven. What compares with His favor?

Here’s a word from the Word. May it inspire us.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’" (Matthew 25:31-40, NIV)
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True Religion

You came for the lost the sick and the blind,
With salvation and hope You gave to us free.
So, what will we do with this treasure we hold?

Let justice roll on like a river!
Let mercy shine bright as the sun!
Take care of the orphan and widow,
Take care of our own flesh and blood.


'Cause this is the way that You've call us to love,
To share what we have with the hungry and poor,
Put clothes on the naked,
And heal up the broken and torn;
True religion!

© 2008 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services)
Ryan Delmore
CCLI License No. 810055