Is who you serve evident by who you follow? You decide. Only you know where your heart is right now. But whenever you find that you feel far away from God, there is something that is holding you back. I challenge you to find that something by asking God to search you and purge it from you. Only God can do that. And if you do not fill it with truth, with the Holy Spirit, and with the fruits of the Spirit, it will only come right back. There is a force in the world that will do anything to keep you from experiencing God and being willing to work for God’s glory. Just ask Peter, who followed Jesus so closely yet was drawn to deny Jesus three times. Just ask David, who valued a close relationship with God but still killed Uriah in order to cover up his affair with Bathsheba. Whenever someone truly experiences God, they are willing. That is what an overflowing cup means; when the joy that we feel does not fit in our own selves, we have to give it to others (Psalm 23:5). You will serve others in your workplaces, but in doing so you are also serving God. Will we be the one who stands so calmly in a chaotic moment, in this world, or in your life, knowing that life will turn out okay? If we pledge to follow Jesus through anything, we follow Jesus through anything. Anything. Especially in the midst of violence. I am reminded by the moment a pastor stared down a criminal in the movie, Do You Believe? He was at gunpoint, and when asked if he was ready to die, he knew he would if it was his moment, and turned the question around. He was ready to die because he was in a close relationship with Jesus. He knew that because he served Jesus with a willing spirit, God would honor him whenever he were to die, even if it were today.
Others know who we serve by what we do or what we say. A popular hymn states that others “will know that we are Christians by our love.” I will close with a quote from the movie, Do You Believe? which asked, “If you were ever accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Are you guided by God? Are you willing? Or do you still let this world get the best of you? God is good, and God will sustain in us a willing spirit. All we need to do is keep asking, and keep close, and God will honor us.
Psalm 51:1-12
John 12:20-33
