Yes, You Can Ministry

Hands and feet

John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

Yesterday, I was reading a friend’s blog, and what she said inspired this message. She is a friend who works with me at Camp Hawkins during the summer. She was talking a bit about how we as Christians have not been called to be, what she called “Bible Study” Jesus, we should be; and are commanded by Jesus to be His hands and feet. Jesus Christ is no longer walking on this earth, but He is still here through us. And most of the time people do not care to dive into a Bible Study until they have met the Jesus that cares for them.

In one of my favorite verses of Scripture, I’ve said before that I have a lot of favorites, James 1:27 we are told to care for the orphans and the widows. I learned a long time ago that people who have physical, in the moment, needs will probably not be very receptive to a Gospel presentation, but when we meet their needs and show them we care then we can have the opportunity to share the Gospel. Some people call that lifestyle evangelism because it does not neccesarily require a printed Bible, but you are the Bible that is read. Listen to what Jesus had to say about this, “We must work the works of Him who sent me…” – John 9:4 We have been commanded by Jesus to “work the works” of God, and God’s greatest commandment is to love Him, but Jesus said the second greatest was, “… love your neighbor as yourself” -Matthew 22:39 Spreading the Gospel often takes hardwork, and yes, it can can nasty and we can get dirty doing it; but the rewards of God are greater than we can imagine.

As I read the words that John wrote in I John 4:20, “… the one who does not love his brother who he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”, I hear the words of Jesus saying you must love your neighbor as yourself. There are mant direct examples and commands from the Bible that command us to love our neighbors, and even our enemies. I know this is hard, believe me I know because there are some people that I do not want to be around, but Jesus tells me that I must love them. I must love them like I want God to love me. In one of my favorite passages we are reminded that love for each other is the highest calling to which we are called. I Corinthians 13:13 says, “But now abides faith, Hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”

I want to leave you with an excerpt from my friends blog. – There were a few conversations with close camp friends while I was there about being the “hands and feet” Jesus as opposed to the “bible study” Jesus.  At camp we very much have to be “hands and feet” we continuously wash the feet (and everything else) of the “least of these” as we put every bit of ourselves aside to serve this one person for an entire week.  To think of how exhausted I am after serving ONE person for a week, I sit back and realize how amazing my God is that he will do that for EVERYONE, forever and ever amen.  Then I start to feel a little guilt mixed with a lot of lazy… I think I’m someone special for being Jesus to one person for one week out of the year… or five weeks on a good year… who am I kidding?! I should be Jesus everyday to everyone I meet… but that shouldn’t be the “bible study” Jesus talking, that needs to be the “hands and feet” Jesus. in the real world. everyday. The entirety of this blog can be read at – Sing, Love, Dance…

I hope that you understand that love is the ultimate example that we should follow. Like the old gospel song says “Love is the answer”. Love is the answer for everything! I know that this may sound like a cliché; I have learned that most clichés have a lot of truth to them, but love truly does conquer all. In fact love has conquered all, Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Father, I thank You for loving me through Your Son, Jesus Christ; I ask Father that You would give me the strength to love others even when I don’t want to because it is through my love that others will see You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.