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The Heart of God by Misti Wagoner-Suckling As Christians, we often find ourselves seeking examples of how we to grow in our faith. We may look to other more mature Christians that we admire for their persevering faith and acquired wisdom, we might listen to Christian radio shows, read books on how to grow closer to God and become more like Him, we may even find adequate role models in our Bibles -- no one can say that Paul didn't have a true fire in his heart for Christ. There is nothing wrong with any of the previously mentioned methods, they can all be effective in their own ways. However, if we genuinely desire to draw closer to God, to become more like Him, then our answers are much easier to find then we think. We have the amazing privilege of having the works of Jesus Christ detailed for us in the Bible. What better example do we need than Jesus Himself? There are many attributes that Jesus displayed; but I would like to focus primarily on one, as I think it is the one that - although so painfully obvious - we often seem to overlook. Jesus was a servant. He served anyone that would allow Him to, even those that were cast aside and hated by all others. As a servant, he had much work to do. He performed miracles, which demonstrated His Deity; He went about from one place to another to heal all manner of diseases, and so healing the bodies of men; He preached the Gospel, for which He was qualified and sent, and thereby did good to the souls of men; and He also fulfilled the law of God in the stead of His people. But, as we know, His greatest service was the redemption and salvation of mankind. These are pretty fantastic feats, and not a single one of us is qualified to serve in any of these ways. However, Jesus served in another ways too; smaller ways that we can imitate. Let's first look and the value Jesus placed on serving. The day before He performed His ultimate service and sacrifice, Jesus spent some time with His chosen disciples. In John 13:12-17, Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. I want to point out verse 15, Jesus says, I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. And verse 17, Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. Jesus was a servant, and He values a servant's heart. Mark 10:43-45 tells us Jesus also said, Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” You see that? Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus did not come to be served. He did not show up with a "Help Wanted" sign, rather, he showed up with a "Help Available" sign. This is the heart of our God. If we wish to grow in our faith and follow the example He set for us, we must change our hearts and our values. A servant is selfless, putting others before himself. As part of our inherent sin nature, we are the opposite - we are selfish. Page 2 of 4 © 2010 - 2011 Anointed Fire Magazine- AnointedFire.com All Rights Reserved
Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Jesus put great value on loving others. One of the best ways to show love is by serving them, just as He did. You might be thinking, Wow, that is so true. And I'm going to start working really hard at serving my loved ones and all my "good" neighbors that I like. You see, there's just some "neighbors" that I don't love, but once I start loving them then I will definitely begin to serve them too. That's faulty thinking. Here's why: Let me set up an analogy for you that can best prove my point. Let's say you have been in a terrible accident. Your child (mother, brother, whomever you love) is now laying in the middle of the street and is completely unconscious. You are on the other side of the street watching, both legs broken, and immobilized. An oncoming car is fast approaching and your child will surely be struck. Standing less than 10 feet away is a large group of people, they too are watching. They see your helpless child in the street. They see the approaching car. Wouldn't you want them - at least one of them - to rush to rescue your child? Wouldn't you be screaming, "Help! Someone please help my child! Why won't any of you help?!" Or would you only allow someone to save your child if they truly and deeply loved your child? That's a ridiculous question isn't it? Yes, it is. God is saying the same thing, "You seem them hurting, you see their need, yet why won't any of you help my child?" Because, God loves all of us and He doesn't wish for any of us to perish. Here's what Jesus did NOT say: Love your neighbor as yourself, but only the ones you like and only if you deem him/her worthy. Nope. No disclaimer there. He said, love your neighbor as yourself. Period. That's the commandment. You see, we don't have the luxury of choosing who is worthy of love. We don't get to make that decision. Why? Because God already made it. We are ALL unworthy, but He chose to love us anyway. Every single one of us. I imagine most of you are familiar with the Gospels. If you're not, go back and read them. In fact, read every part of the Bible that talks about the work of Jesus. You'll see a common theme. Jesus, the only sinless being to ever walk this planet, the only one better than the rest of us, never turned a single person away. He showed His love through His service to everyone. If you are a true believer and you have a genuine faith then your ultimate desire should be to aspire to be as much like Jesus as humanly possible. I don't know about you, but I want a Jesus-like heart. Sometimes the act of love comes before the "feeling" of love. The most important thing to remember is that you are not showing your love, you are showing God's love. Let God use you to draw others to Himself, to show them that He is a good and loving God that wants only the best for them. Loving your enemy, loving someone that's hurt you, loving someone that you dislike is a difficult task. I get that. But God WILL give you what you need to do it. All you have to do is ask. It's not to say you won't be tested, don't misunderstand. But God never gives you more than He can handle. So since I've now pointed out that God says you should love those you have a hard time loving, your next excuse is probably this: I would just love to help and to serve, but I am simply WAY too busy. Guess what? I have great news! No, you're not. Here's something to consider: It's easier to give money than to give your time. There's all kinds of reasons people will throw money at something. They want to look good in front of others (See everyone how selfless I am? I give); peer pressure (everyone else wrote a check, I should too), or as a way of rationalizing to themselves the fact that they don't want to give in any other capacity. Don't get me wrong, I see and acknowledge the value in funding ministries and churches. But I also believe that Page 3 of 4 © 2010 - 2011 Anointed Fire Magazine- AnointedFire.com All Rights Reserved
there can be far more value in the giving of yourself. Jesus and His disciples didn't go around throwing $20 dollar bills at the sick and the poor and the lost. Because He knew it wasn't money that they truly needed. They needed God. Giving our time is the opposite of giving our money. Instead of having excuses as to why we give, we have excuses as to why we cannot. Let me just say, I understand busy. That being said, "busy" is an excuse we use to make ourselves feel less guilty when we don't do the things we know we should. We need to maintain an "eternal perspective". That is, what will be important in Heaven, not what is important here on Earth. Having children I understand that take up a considerable amount of your time. And they (along with your marriage) are one of the single most important ministries that you will be a part of. But what about that 3 hours of TV you watch every night? Do you even remember what you watched at 9pm two Thursdays ago? What was it about? What happened? Did it serve the Lord in anyway? What about the time you spend on the computer? Does it further His kingdom? Does it show the love of God to others? The dress you'll spend 2 hours making that looks almost exactly the same as 3 others hanging in your closet? The 4 hours hitting balls at the golf course? I think I've made my point. You are NOT too busy. You're too lazy, selfish, tired, worn-out, something. I don't pretend to know what it is that prevents YOU. And I don't intend to sound overly harsh. But my hope is to help you take an honest look at where you are and where God wants you to be, and then get there. What I do know is that if you take it to God with an honest heart, he'll fix it. One of my long-time favorite Jesus stories in the Bible is about Jesus and the little children. Mark 10:13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.� And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. There are many lessons that we can learn from this story, but I'm only going to point out one. The Disciples (human and not faultless) believed that children should not take up Jesus' time. He was a busy man, after all, and they believed He had more important things to be doing. But what was Jesus' response? Indignation. The definition for indignation is: strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; righteous anger. Righteous anger for what? Simply, that anyone would hinder another from experiencing the love and blessings of God. We are called to share it, to give it; but never to withhold it. There isn't a single passage in the Bible in which the Lord Jesus is simply "too busy" to share His love and to serve, to give of Himself, to anyone. God shows His love to everyone. Jesus served everyone. And we, friends, are expected to do the same. Philippians 2:1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
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