Dictionary.com, renders “serve” in this following definition :
“to act as a servant; the act, manner, or right of serving.”
There’s nothing that’s altogether incorrect or wrong about this definition — it spells out succinctly who & what this word means. Yet there is something that this definition lacks — the sense of purpose or calling. You see, in the definition, there is an implied understanding that only “servants” serve & the persons who are in the act of service are “servants.” Who are servants? This is not described in detail but it is implied that they refer to people & persons whose job is to serve — this does not describe any one of us unless we ourselves are in the employ of someone whom we are giving our service.
Let me turn your attention to this verse in Scripture —
Genesis 2:15
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to WORK it & KEEP it.
In the beginning of the creation of the world, God had created man & put him in the Garden to work & keep the Garden. What does that mean? It means, simply, that man was created to serve the Garden; his function, his purpose, his calling, if you will, was to take care of the Garden & all that God had created. His job, therefore, is to make sure that all of creation under his supervision functioned properly. In that sense, he served God as a derivative of God Himself — man created in the image of God & yet not God. He was a physical & finite being but endowed with the Creator’s gifts & blessings of spiritual significance.
What this means for us is that from the dawn of human history, from our creation, we were meant to serve, to work, & to take care of the world & objects in & around us. There is no sense from this beginning that man was to serve himself, take care of himself or to work for himself. Matter of fact, it is in the giving of himself that all things & everything in the created universe thrives & prospers. There is a most natural question — in all of his giving of himself, what of man that he can thrive & prosper? This is answered by the implication that he is man & finite & therefore, is in need of something of divine & external to engineer this most stupendous feat of creative activity — God. And thus, this is how man thrived personally — in communion with God, in fellowship with the divine, he was both inspired & enabled to perform the feats of “gardening” that the Lord expected of him. Furthermore, such feats were expected of him as though naturally gifted.
Then the Fall of Gensis 3 enters the picture. More than its corruption & disruption of this perfect sublime image — it overturns & perverts the created order in which God had made so good. Sin has entered the created world & as such evil pervades everything. Yet still further what sin has done is that it has created a chasm of infinite proportions between humans & God to such an extent that in all we do in the performance of & in our material universe, is for the purpose of ourselves. In that sense, we serve ourselves. In the giving of ourselves, we become bankrupt to the point that we need & desire to take care of ourselves; to make sure that we, ourselves, are alright. Thus, we have distorted the image & picture of not just work but of service & serving.
What is meant for true service & of serving?
Revelation 22:2-3
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him
Take careful note here : what is mentioned is that the leaves of the tree are meant for healing of the nations. Yet what is the tree — it is the tree of life that was first mentioned in Genesis 2. Furthermore, what of the fruit on this tree of life? The twelve kinds of fruit refer to the people of God. If this is the case, what is the representation of the tree of life? It is Christ, the Lamb, who is both the river of life & the tree of life, who is also sitting on the throne with God. Can you see this picture & image? Jesus Christ is all three — The Lamb who sits on the throne that gives life to everything that flows from Him; He is the river that flows from Him; and He is the tree of life that sustains the fruit of the tree. And we, who are in Christ, are sustained by the tree & the river that is Christ.
Where do I get my motivation for work? Where do I get my energy from work? Where do I get my endurance for work, when I want & desire to rest & take care of myself? If you are a Child of Christ, if Jesus is your Savior; If Christ is your image & your identity, then the answer is a very simple one — on your knees in repentance, give to Him your struggle of service. Because that is what’s happening to you. The defintion is not wrong — a servant is the one who serves. If we are a Child of Christ, we are called to serve — to give of ourselves tirelessly on a daily & hourly basis. There is no let up — we are serving & in service to the our Lord God & Jesus Christ. But also, we are serving & in service to others — our employer, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our wives or husbands, our children, our parents & even strangers — loving strangers & even hateful ones. Only Christ, who is our ever sustaining tree of life & river of life, can ever hope to fulfill in us & through us all that He demands of us & expects of us. Because if He fails to do this in this earthly life how can we possibly hope that He will sustain us into all eternity in Heaven with Him? Thus, In Christ Jesus, our service in Him begins now — on this side of eternity, not when we see Him face to face.
Why do we feel bankrupt in all of this giving of ourselves?
The answer is quite simple — we are giving of ourselves with the bankruptcy & futility of human nature. And if we are not In Christ, we do not have the Savior as the river of life flowing into us, nor are we attached to the tree of life that can sustain us. This is why Christ & Christ alone can fill our hearts so that we do not feel bankrupt in our service & at the same time can sustain all the giving we can do through His lovingkindness. I plead & ask all of us, including myself, that in all of our giving of ourselves in work & service to never forget & always remember that it is Christ, your all sustaining Grace & mercy in order to do to us what He always intended to do through us — the healing of the nations.
