Service...it's not about ME

A couple of weeks ago was Communion Sunday at church.  For the past eight years, Bryan and I have served communion. It is only once a month, but every time we are about to go down the aisle, with the "bread" and "wine" in hand, I get nervous. What if I drop one of the trays? What if I fall face-first in the aisle? (our aisle slants downward as you approach the front of the church...and inevitably, I forget and wear my heeled shoes every time) What if there is a mix-up as we are passing things out and we end up with confusion? (This has happened before.) And every time, I just pray that everything goes well, that nothing we do is a distraction as people are trying to focus on Christ -- basically, that all goes smoothly. And usually it does. After eight years, Bryan and I are pretty good at reading one another's face as to what the other needs him/her to do across the long rows of pews.

This makes me think about serving God in general. We serve God in order to point people to Him (His Son, Jesus Christ), so that they will focus on Him and grow in relationship to Him. We are not to be self-focused -- a distraction to others, causing them to take their eyes off of Christ. So every Communion Sunday, I pray that mainly, we are not a distraction -- that no one notices us and that I am able to keep my balance on the slanty aisle, and that we communicate well (silently) so that we don't cause a distraction.

As a leader for a small group Bible study, I inevitably start worrying about my group of ladies. Will they like me? Will I sound like an idiot while I'm facilitating the group? I have to be continually reminded that it isn't about ME -- it's about God, and about the women drawing closer to Him as they learn about Him through His Word. If someone has a problem, it most likely has nothing at all to do with me...it is more about their relationship with God. My job as their leader is to point them to Christ, and to model Christ in my words, behavior...my life. (Which, of course, is not easy, since I am fallen and sinful...human, you know.)

So as you serve the Lord wherever He's placed you -- try to remember that it isn't about you. It's about Him -- bringing glory to Him. And don't worry about whether or not people will come to Him -- He'll bring them to Himself. It's our job to simply point them to Christ. What they do with that is their choice.

"For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." (I Thessalonians 4:7-8)

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:20-21)