Nougat 30

What does it mean to Serve God in Jesus Christ? It begins with acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord (ultimate divine ruler) and extends to a practical application for the rest of our days. Consider today’s Holy Nougat

“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” John‬ ‭12:26‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is a distinct difference between serving and accepting Christ. I can accept the idea of someone being IN leadership, yet not ‘serve’ them. Jesus met with many who recognized His status, including the one who wished for eternal life, but not every one was prepared to make Him first priority.

There were some however, who counted the cost – like the Twelve and the Seventy. Let us not forget the Luke 8 Women (see verses 1-3), Joseph of Arimathea, Saul-Paul (read Acts of the Apostles for his story and also the epistles), possibly even Nicodemus, the secret disciple.

Let us not forget the nameless boy, mentioned once by deed (John 6:1-15), but implicitly present in all four gospels through his offer of his lunch to Jesus. His act of service changed the course of history for 5,000 men plus women and children. While we might argue about whether he volunteered the food or not; we cannot deny that he had to have BEEN at the Jesus convention for his lunch to be the object of Jesus’ multiplication miracle. And to choose the place where Jesus was instead of being elsewhere with friends suggests that he WAS a follower.

There is no way that he (or his parents for that matter) could have known in advance that Jesus’ miraculous multiplication would have occurred that day. But he was present. And by being where Christ was, that boy was honored. Not in the way we do nowadays with flashy lights and social media posts. Rather he was honored where it mattered – in Heaven.

For sure, sometimes serving Christ will carry earthly dishonor, scoffing from others and loads of discouragement. But just as we would serve earthly leaders to the blessed or bitter end, regardless of others’ opinion, so it is that we follow, recognizing that the first ‘reward’ is the joy of being in Jesus’ presence.

I pray that we will each be convicted to follow Jesus more diligently as we seek to serve Him.

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May all we seek be found in Christ