The Origin and Foundation of Service

The Origin of the Service Concept 

Christian theology hypothesizes that a proper understanding of serving takes us back to the beginning chapters of the Bible and God’s special creation of human beings in His image. This divinely inspired account establishes the starting point for understanding ourselves because it explicates the relationship between humankind and our Creator.

“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“What is true of the creation generally is even more true of human beings. Our special creation in the image of God means that we were created to serve Him in a way that goes beyond anything else that He has made. Our unique service is indicated by the blessing that God pronounced on humanity and his command to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”. —Kirk Wellum

Every Christian is created to serve. Every Christian is called to serve. This calling remains constant throughout our lives, even if the ways we serve change.

The Foundation of Service

Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-40

Service without love is drudgery and can breed resentment and pride. But love for God purifies our service and lightens the burdens that we face in this life as we do the Lord’s work. It all begins by not seeing service as a duty but as a response of love to Jesus who died for us. 

“There are many motives for serving God. Some people serve out of a desire for rewards. Some serve for fear of disappointing or failing Him or others. But the greatest motive for serving God is a recognition of His love for us and our corresponding love for Him.” —Paul Chappell

We should not look at serving as a duty but a desire because of what Christ has done for us. It is through love, not through duty, that we serve one another. 

“The foundation of Christian life is service to God that is lived out in service to others. The focus of Christian ministry is love of God that is fleshed out in love for others. There is simply no way around this. Being a disciple means being a servant. Being what God regards as a great disciple means being what God regards as a great servant.” —Michael Ruffin

If we think about service as something that has to be done, we are not going to be very motivated to serve. If this reflects our attitude toward God and toward serving, we will never have the heart for service.

It is not good enough for a Christian to do good things for people if our motive is self-centered. It is not good enough for a Christian to help folks if our goal is to use the people we help for our own benefit. 

God notices when we take our own needs and wants and sacrifice them for others. It’s not always what we want to do, but it’s something that changes our mindsets and our hearts to reflect how Jesus wants us to think toward others… no strings attached, not hoping for something in return.

With your willingness to serve, where do you start? The first step is on a personal level; to take a look at your gifts, to take a look at your interests and to say "God how can you take me as I am and use me to reach out, to step out of my comfort zone a little bit and reach out to someone else in need?" 

Is serving a precondition to salvation?

“We are not saved by serving, but we are saved for serving.” —Rick Warren.

Seems like this statement is incoherent. True, we are not saved by serving. But we are saved for serving?

It occurred to me that  ‘saved’ in the second part of the sentence means: chosen, preserved, separated, set aside, put aside, redeemed, reclaimed, ransomed, so we can serve.

That makes us a special people.

The greatest privilege in life is to be used by God for His purpose. Try it if you haven’t and it will change your perspective in life.

There are no heroes in this profession called service but there are still good men and women who love and who want to serve. It must be you!