“Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.” I Samuel 12:24
Serving God has always been a priority for us, and I believe it has saved us from many trials and possible disasters in life. The anchor that has been our security in all of this is the love our Savior has for us and this in turns moors us and gives us that desire to give back to Him. But why do we serve God?
Serving God gives us an opportunity to show our gratefulness to Him. It is our way of giving back because His Son gave so much for us. Romans 5:8 states, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for us! He suffered much so that we could have eternal security. Gratefulness should be at the heart of all we do each day as we serve our God.
Life is the time to serve the Lord,
The time to ensure the great reward;
And while the lamp holds out to burn,
The vilest sinner may return.
Serving God is a great way to testify of His saving grace which He has offered to the whole world. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Isn’t this why we are on earth? Matthew 5:16, speaks correctly that we should shine bright in a dark world so others may be saved thus escaping eternal damnation. Testimony flowing from a grateful heart is of service to our God.
Life is the hour that God has given
To ’scape from hell and fly to Heav’n;
The day of grace, and mortals may
Secure the blessings of the day.
Serving God is a great way to show our devotion to Him for what He has done for us. Let’s say you were crossing the street and a bus comes careening around the corner. And let’s say a person just happened to be standing on the curb nearby. They race to you and pull you out of the bus’s path. Wouldn’t you be forever grateful to this person for saving your life?
Wouldn’t you want to thank them by having a meal with them and establishing a lifelong friendship with them? A beautiful verse in Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Being saved from a speeding bus is one thing, but being saved eternally should make us so gratefully devoted to our God that we want to serve Him while here on earth.
The living know that they must die,
But all the dead forgotten lie;
Their memory and their sense is gone,
Alike unknowing and unknown.
Why do we serve our God? We serve Him out of grateful love and devotion for all He has done for us and for all He will be giving us when we enter our eternal rest. His burdens are not difficult. Living for Him is not hard. We may not live and act like the world but serving Him in serving others brings a joy the world knows nothing of.
Then what my thoughts design to do,
My hands, with all your might pursue;
Since no device nor work is found,
Nor faith, nor hope, beneath the ground.
