In the service we render, there is no such thing as position or status, nor should we covet these things. We should not expect to be highly regarded or even appreciated. Rather, we must be prepared to be mistreated without any recognition for our efforts. Our reward does not come from men.
However, this is not our real situation. In the past, we made it very clear that our path was contrary to the world’s. We made it clear that this was not the way for those who sought glory. We should not say that those who serve the Lord must be respected in order to attract others to His service. Such an atmosphere only proves we are in a state of degradation. Even if we were respected, others would continually rise up to serve the Lord; they cannot be stopped.
We need to realize that everything belongs to God and He assumes full responsibility. He has brought us into this path. This is His work. We cannot stir others up to it nor control them. It is shameful to use financial resources to keep others under control or to control even the Lord’s servants.
The Lord desires that all work depend on Him. How we are treated by others is secondary and should not trouble us. Those who serve the Lord must be prepared to put everything in His hands and live only for Him. God is fully responsible for our needs. We live by faith, even when we need to make tents like Paul (Acts 18:3; 20:34).
We must be humble and pure as we serve. To be humble is to put ourselves aside and submit to God’s arrangement. To be pure is to recognize that all things come from God and that we have no other motivations or expectations. We take this path whether people praise us or oppose us. If we are appreciated, we walk this way; if not, we still walk this way. We follow this way whether others agree or not. Following Him is something entirely between us and God; it has nothing to do with any other person or thing. One who serves the Lord must be like this.
At the end of his ministry, Paul said: “All who are in Asia turned away from me” and also: “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me” (2 Tim. 1:15; 4:16). It seems he meant that many had received his ministry, yet none remained with him at his first defense. Nevertheless, the Lord stood with him and strengthened him so that “the proclamation might be fully accomplished through me” (v. 17). In our service, we should not seek the sympathy of others. Our path depends on the Lord.
All who serve the Lord need to be humble toward themselves and pure toward others. They should not seek the approval of the brothers or expect high status, good treatment, praise, or positive responses. We must be pure in our aim of seeking only God. We must also be humble in submitting to others and to our circumstances.
We serve the Lord and those who love Him. If He could even wash the disciples’ feet, who is there that we cannot serve? If the Lord could go into Hades, where is it that we cannot serve? Whether in a large city or a small one, whether as elders administrating the church or simply cleaning the bathrooms, we must be diligent in our service.
Only in this way can we carry out the work of building. This kind of service will produce an organic result of building. Otherwise, our service will produce only “giants.” Please do not forget that we reap only what we sow.
Satan subtly works to make us individualistic and to live in disharmony, even if we do not argue with one another. In such a condition, we work with one hand and tear down with the other. In this kind of situation, it is hard to receive the blessing; it is hard for our work to produce any organic result.
God’s blessing is upon acting in one accord and in oneness. Genuine oneness comes with building. If we are built up, we can be with the brothers in any city and in any circumstance. Whether as elders or sweeping the floor, we serve with thanksgiving and praise. We are flexible in our coordination with others.
If we learn this lesson before God, our service as elders will result in the building up of the church, and our cleaning of the meeting hall will also result in the building up of the church. In this way, it doesn’t matter which book of the Bible the elders ask us to study—whether the Gospel of John or the Epistles to the Thessalonians—we will have no personal preference. As long as we are built up, it does not matter where we are placed or what we are asked to do, we are in the building. Everything depends on whether we are built up by the Lord, not on whether we are asked to minister the word.
GENUINE BROTHERLY LOVE IS THE BUILDING
Another reason for the lack of building among those who serve is the lack of love for one another. This lack of mutual love causes me to suffer. There is no genuine love among us, and in truth, we do not care much for one another. It seems we are content just to get along. It is as if we are just colleagues. Yet without brotherly love, we will lose both our testimony and the Lord’s blessing.
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I weep, for they have taken my Lord;
The stone’s removed, the tomb is empty now,
And they have taken my Lord;
Oh! Where is He? -
The disciples had come there before,
They saw the tomb was empty, and they left;
That was enough to satisfy,
But where is He?Where is my precious Lord,
My only love,
The One my soul longs for?
Jesus, my love, none else do I adore. -
There is a deep, unspoken void in me.
Oh, angels, please don’t ask me why I cry.
He is the only One who can fill me;
But where is He? -
I sense a man is standing near to me;
The gardener? I can hardly see.
I ask him: Have you taken Him away?
Oh! Where is He?Where is my precious Lord,
My only love?
Tell me where you have laid Him,
And I’ll take Him away, I’ll carry Him with me. -
Then came a voice that said: “Mary.”
Such sweet a voice that touched my very core.
Yes, it’s the voice of my Belov’d,
My Jesus, Lord!I’ve found my precious Lord,
My only love,
The One my soul longs for!
Jesus, my love, none else do I adore. -
Jesus then said: “Do not touch Me,
For I have not yet gone up to the Father.
But go and tell My brothers now
And say to them:I ascend to My Father,
And your Father;
I ascend to My God,
And your God—go, tell My brothers.”
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