NOV 13

Romans 12:9-11
Memorise Philippians 1:18
“…Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice…”

As fellow servants of the Lord, as fellow soldiers in the army of Christ, it would seem logical to assume that everyone gets along well with one another. After all, we are serving the same master, fighting against the same enemy, and striving towards a common goal, right? Sadly this is not always the case. There are people who claim to be serving the Lord, but yet they do so with ulterior motives, seeking to advance only their personal agendas. When they do so, they disrupt the unity of the fellowship, and are serving self and not God.

Romans 12:9-11 gives us a very helpful guideline as to what sort of attitudes we must have when we serve together with others. Verse 9 speaks of the sacrificial agape love for God that we must exhibit. It must be in sincerity and truth, and without any dissimulation or hypocrisy. This is the foundational motivation that guides all our service. Our desires must be righteous, always be for things which are morally excellent and good, and we must be quick to reject and hate anything that is evil. The love in verse 10 speaks more of the brotherly (phileo) love that we must have, in terms of our affection and relationship one with another. We must care for the people that we are serving together with, and learn to respect them as fellow Christians. Verse 11 then speaks of our attitude to the work itself, that we must never be slothful, but be fervent in our spirit, knowing that we are serving the Lord. Just like the Apostle Paul, we should focus on labouring for God’s glory as the singular objective of our service rather than for personal recognition or prestige.

If we are able to have all these attitudes in our service, surely we will be a great encouragement to the people around us, and our service will definitely edify and not stumble. We will contribute to the unity of peace and not detract from it. May we all pray that as we serve, the Lord will teach us to love Him, love others, and love the work that is set before us.

Thought: Do I rejoice that others are partaking in the same joy and privilege of serving God as I am?
Prayer: Father of Lights, teach me to appreciate my co-labourers in Christ for the harvest is truly great but labourers few.