Serving with Compassion and Gratitude! by Chad Thieman

Sustainable and continual success always has and always will require serving others and hard work. This is true on earth, and this is true in the Kingdom of Heaven as well. Christ was and is our greatest example of a leader who served and worked on behalf of the Kingdom of God. His is the ultimate success story, and genuine success is only found in Him and through Him!

Therefore, our success story must be written through our personal ministry in Christ. The primary way that we fulfill our personal ministry is through planned service towards others. Even though it is ideal to plan how we serve and work on behalf of the Church and those we are witnessing to, sometimes circumstances can alter our plans, as a greater opportunity to serve becomes apparent, or perhaps even necessary. We should always view these unplanned circumstances as “investment opportunities” in the Kingdom of Heaven and serve others with compassion and gratitude.

Christ taught us that the greatest leaders in the Kingdom of God are likewise the greatest servants working for the Body of Christ and on behalf of all humanity. If you want to be great in the Kingdom of God, then you must serve continually in some form or another; if you want greater reward and treasure in heaven, then be compassionate and grateful in your service towards others.

There are several ways in which we can serve and work on behalf of the Lord through our personal ministry. We can contribute with charitable giving, we can share our resources and access with others, we can use our talents to bring blessings to those in need of them, we can mentor others in the Gospel through discipleship, or we can simply come alongside other believers and assist them in their ministry for the Lord. The greatest leaders in the Kingdom of God will put all of these concepts into practice and do so daily with kindness and joy.

The two greatest qualities of a leader are being servant-minded and having a good work ethic. The more we serve others and are productive in the work that we do, the more we learn how to avoid failure and achieve true success in Christ both on earth and in Heaven.

All of our life experiences can be used to benefit our personal growth and maturity in Christ, and to help us develop our leadership skills for the benefit of His Kingdom. We must put in the time and the effort, but this does not mean that we have to labor hard for the rest of our lives. Our Lord told us that His yoke is easy. He will carry the weight of our burdens and take care of everything around us, as long as we continue to focus on investing in our ministry in Christ.

To be a successful servant-leader, one must invest their time, talent, and treasure into others daily, and if they do so wisely, they will see a glorious return from the Lord. Of these three, the time investment is perhaps the most important of all. Time investment has three options and three outcomes: positive, negative, and stagnant. Whichever you invest, you will ultimately receive the same back, and you might see an increase.

Some serving opportunities require greater amounts of time investment than others. We can greatly reduce our time investment through networking and partnerships, as well as through the wise application of time, talent, and treasure. Investing our time in other people through mentorship is one of the most important and influential things that we can do. As the old saying goes: “It is better to teach a man to fish than to give a man a fish.” In the Church, believers typically refer to mentorship as discipleship. Christ commanded all His disciples to become “Fishers of Men,” and to go and make disciples of all nations. This is how we serve and work on behalf of the Kingdom of God, and this is how we partake in the greatest success story of all, that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (John 13:1–17)

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Chad Thieman

Chad writes Christ-centered and faith-filled poetry, parables, proverbs, devotions, and inspirational short stories. He and his wife, Tina, live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They both enjoy walking in nature, inspiring others, and living out their faith in the local community. Chad’s books are available on all major online book retailers.