And Truth Gave Birth to Service...

Good morning!

Please forgive the weird fonts and background colors....must be Weird Font Day....

As I write this, I hear the voices of 9 young women filtering through my house.  They are getting ready to return to the church this morning for the Disciple Now weekend.  Hubster and I got to host the 12th grade girls.  We are blessed!

Today's text is John 12:24-26 and 42-43.  Let's look at the first three verses first.

I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life.26 If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

I had a conversation recently with a family member who was criticizing me for my service.  After all, he said, you can't "work your way into Heaven".  Well, he's exactly right about that.  Christianity is the only major world religion that features God pursuing man to give him salvation; it cannot be earned.  In all the others, man pursues God in order to earn his way into heaven.

When I was asked why I love to serve, I did not immediately think of this verse.  The analogy is so beautiful!  Unless a kernel of wheat is buried in the earth, bursts apart and "dies", it will not reproduce.  At the heart of my service is a longing to "reproduce" more converts to the Body of Christ, and to strengthen my brothers and sisters who already have decided to follow Jesus.

Service is not without cost.  All of us have the same number of hours in the day.  Hours devoted to service require something else to fall by the wayside.

When Jesus became that kernel of wheat for us, it was certainly not without great cost.  In this passage, He was speaking of Himself and the sacrifice He would make to pay for our sins.  He was buried "in the earth" for 3 days.  When He arose, he set us, captives to sin, free, and "produced much grain."

How can we, out of a supernatural love for Him, do any less?

Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess Jesus to be the Christ, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

One reason people don't serve the Body is that they crave the approval of their peers more than approval from God.  We won't win anyone to Christ unless we hold tight to the Truth of the gospel.

In that conversation I mentioned earlier Truth was questioned.  "There is only one Truth", I said, and that Truth is Jesus.  There is no other."  "That is YOUR truth!", was the reply.  

No, friends, the truth is the truth, whether one chooses to believe it or not.  When we, as Christians backstep and sidestep and shimmy around, slip-sliding away from the truth of the gospel, we cheapen our testimony.  As we will see when we get to John 14, Jesus left no room for "additional truths". Such a belief system may be popular or politically correct, but it is not Truth.  Truth is narrow.

Service is born out of a belief in the Truth.  After all, if you don't subscribe to the Truth, why serve in the name of that same Truth?

I have some friends, a Christian family, who recently beautifully exemplified the message of this chapter.  They learned about a high school senior who had suddenly become homeless.  His family had simply moved away and left him to fend for himself.  I cannot even, y'all.  At any rate, this family opened their hearts and home to this young man, a total stranger.  Last night, at the first meeting of the Disciple Now weekend, he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ presented.  And, he made the decision to follow Christ, to give His life to Him.

You SEE?!  This young man had seen the heart of Christ in action.  This family acted out on their belief in the Savior, and now this young man's life is forever changed.  Hallelujah!

This is service.  THIS is the Body of Christ.

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for your great sacrifice for us, for being that kernel of wheat you talked about in John 12.  Thank you for giving my friends the opportunity to serve and for that young man's soul that was saved for eternity last night.  I praise you and humbly thank you for the truth and the amazing transforming power of the gospel!  In Jesus' name, amen.