Scripture
Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it. Romans 15:1-3 (MSG)
Observation
“How Can I Help?” These four words embody the focus of the life of Jesus who left the glories of Heaven to enter our muck and mess and to show us a way out. He could have emblazoned His love in the sky, sent messages through the angels, but instead He came in the flesh. He looked us in the eyes and asked “How Can I Help?” He laid His life down over and over again before He ever did it on the Cross. Jesus chose servanthood and taught His disciples the power of proximity and presence over power and position. Jesus removed the false definition of success and made it clear that we don’t graduate FROM serving, but we graduate TO serving in the Kingdom of God! We go out of our way to be in the middle of the pain with someone else. A disciples of Jesus doesn’t feign compassion and fake concern but instead we go out of our way to ask these four world changing words- How Can I Help? “25But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mt. 20:25-26)
Application
As I drove to the Sherrif’s station at 5:30 this morning to make it to the 6am Briefing with the police officers who serve our city I thought to myself, “Why are you even doing this? What difference does it make? No one would even notice if you stopped coming.” Looking back on this line of thinking I can see how blatantly self-serving it was, but at the time it seemed to make sense. Later that morning my wife gently reminded me that I had just preached on the power of being generous with our presence in my Sunday sermon. Almost every person we came across on Israel stopped to thank us for being an American in Israel during this trying season in their nations history. We didn’t have to say anything, but our presence spoke volumes of the love of Jesus. For some reason, though, this truth didn’t translate to the San Marcos Sherrif’s station. As I dragged myself into the station I asked the Lord to guide me and give me His heart to help. Wow! He sure heard my prayers. Over the course of the next hour here’s the ministry opportunities that came simply because I was in the room to help as the station chaplain:
-Officers Dad has COPD and Mom is preparing for his death. H was tearing up as we talked.
-Officer asked for prayers for Daughter driving cross country from Cali to Chicago
-Prayed with Office manager who blew up at his family at Thanksgiving due to some family trauma from his childhood coming back up.
If I had believed the lies going through my head and had just stayed in bed I would have missed all of this! What if the best thing we can give Jesus this December is what He came to model for us? Emmanuel, God With Us, came to serve us with His life! The Four Word Focus of “How Can I Help?” will turn our eyes off of ourselves and towards those around us.
Prayer
Lord, there are so many decorations and distractions in December that if I’m not careful I’m going to miss the whole point of why You came! You came to model for us, in person, how to be Jesus with skin on to the world around us. If I just fill my calendar up with Jon stuff I’m going to miss the Jesus stuff You’re doing all around me! Instead of trying to take the easy route and avoiding the difficult situations and conversations, it could be that’s exactly where You want me to go this December! What if the interruptions are invitations to show the reason for The Incarnation? Let me move from “what I deserve” to where I can serve as I keep these four words on my lips every where I go, “How Can I Help?”
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