Living in Increase (Part 3) - Increase in PurposeSample

Week 5: The Importance of Serving

We Serve to Honor God

We serve to honor God. To serve is to work on behalf of another. Christianity is faith expressed through community with acts of kindness and sharing the Good News. Before considering the importance of serving others, we must consider what serving God means. To serve God is to set aside our will to work according to His will.

In Romans 12, Paul encourages the Church in Rome (and us) to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. This, he says, is their reasonable service. We serve God with our whole being by living a life submitted to Him. Practically, what does this look like? We consider God in everything we do because we offer ourselves to God in service. Imagine your spouse or parent making a decision that will affect you, but they do not consult or consider you when making the decision. In the same way, when we call ourselves “believers,” everything we do reflects the God we say we serve; therefore, we should consider Him in all that we do through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 5:16, the writer says, “Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Our service to God is the avenue through which we serve others, and when we serve others, God is glorified.

We serve to honor God.

Ruby Washington

Action Step: Consider and jot down some simple acts of service you can do today.