Serving

My schedule permitted me to help at the Sign of the Kingdom in Sumner this morning; an activity I hope to make a part of my week. For those who don’t know, this is the local food pantry. It was a slow morning (I guess others do not like cold either), but nevertheless I did meet some new friends and we served some in need. As with my experience at the Lifeline, the local food pantry in Sesser, working at such an agency will expose one to those folks I believe Matthew spoke of in chapter 25 when he wrote of “the least, the last, and the lost.” And while that is an account that compels us to serve, I am also reminded of James words when he told us that “faith without works is dead.” The Contemporary English Version interprets James 2:17 as, “Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!” We are not called to be a part of a monastic community, all alone cloistered behind the great walls of a monastery, seeking to know God as ordinary people cannot. We are called to draw closer to God by serving the needs of others. John Wesley built upon this notion of seeking God and serving others with his Works of Piety and Works of Mercy. We are to enter into an intimate relationship with God, and that is a process that takes time. But Bible study or prayer time alone will not produce a balanced disciple…in order to become as much like our Savior as we can, we must also serve others in the name of Jesus Christ.