Have you ever volunteered for a job that needs to be done or some work that needs to be finished? Our country has so many willing volunteers to do so many things in life such as helping teens, giving aid to our vets and just sitting with our elderly. The list could go on and on.
We can define volunteer as: to enter into any service of one’s free will, without solicitation or compulsion. Volunteering is not the same as commanding something to be done (I like to tell my kids they have been volun-told 😎). Volunteering is something we do of our own free will and yet volunteer, we should! When God gave His all by sending His only Son to die on the cross, He did it out of love for us. Christ didn’t have to go but He went willingly, as a volunteer, to be the greatest sacrifice for mankind. John 6:38 points this out, “for I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” Today, we as Christians now have the obligation to be grateful for the sacrifice Christ made and the best way to show gratefulness is in the service of others. As a volunteer we can be serving in so many areas.
WITNESSING
One way we can volunteer our service is to use our mouths and our hands and feet to spread the good news that Jesus saves. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,” (Isaiah 52:7) We love going out as a family, passing tracts and sharing the good news in our neighborhood. A tract is a simple pamphlet explaining how you can have this free gift of salvation. Tracts have been around for a long time but even without them we can tell people about the good news just by walking up and starting a conversation. Witnessing is serving God by sharing the good news. Find out more about God’s amazing salvation in my book.
TALENTS
Another way we can volunteer is taking our talents and using them for God. Is your talent in cooking and baking? You can be such an encouragement to others by bringing an elderly friend a meal. You can bake some cupcakes and bring them for a Sunday School class. Maybe your talent lies in playing an instrument.
If you can transport it, grab it and go play at a nursing home. Mellie and I did this recently and we ended up having such fun and the people we were visiting loved it. Or perhaps you have a knack for writing. Write a letter to a shut-in and send it in the mail! What a pleasant surprise this would be. I believe God gave us each talents so we can use them for Him.
If you don’t know what your talent is, then ask your friends and family. They can point the talents out to you, and you’ll then be serving God by using your talents. I love this verse in I Peter 4:10, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
GRATEFULNESS
When I think of how Jesus came down from a perfect heaven to a sin-filled world, I’m reminded that the little service I do for Him is not enough. The gratefulness I need to show on a daily basis is not always there. I think when we rush around our day and grumble, complain, or whine it tends to push gratefulness to the back of our mind and this hurts our Savior. In part, the definition of gratefulness is being agreeable. I love this verse in Psalms (126:3), “the LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.” We can’t be agreeable (happy) when we are whining about life. The Savior left a perfect heaven (let that sink in) and did it for ME and for YOU. He was not willing that any should perish and worked towards that end. Can we in our gratefulness get the word out of His love for others? What a great way to serve God but in gratefulness! Our gratefulness should never be depleted as I pointed out here.
Can we think of being a volunteer today? Can I set my mind to be grateful for all He has done for me? As A Volunteer is a wonderful song and I hope that you enjoy this new group that I found!
