Serving Others as Serving Christ

[Jehane]

Hm.. I put S of F down on forms but I've only ever been to about 2 meetings in my life. Quakers aren't real thick on the ground in Oz & there are none at all where I am. It's easier to list all the things I'm not...Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, AOG, COC, Anglican, Mennonite etc.

 

[~InHisHands~]

I don't know what S of F is.

 

[Jehane]

Society of Friends - Quakers.

 

[~InHisHands~]

*He he*

 

[MrJim]

I've not had to write down a denom for myself in a lot of years, guess I would just put down Christian and leave it at that.

I've been a part of 6 congregations in our little town, only an official "member" of one [mennonite]. Guess what? That little label don't mean anything. Some argue that "their" group is the only good one (and I don't mean just the RCC or EO either!) and I say God's not going to judge by our label:

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Mat 25:42 For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Mat 25:44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Mat 25:45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

[~InHisHands~]

He's not going to judge by our labels Menno. The Lord doesn't label. He loves. Willingly, unconditionally, eternally.

 

[Jehane]

So right. Labels are completely pointless. If we love God we do what he says. He calls us by name & we follow him & do his will. Man is good at making heavy burdens to place on others shoulders & all too often that is what the church has done; the Lord does not.

 

[Jehane]

Our church has mostly been blessed to have really good preachers & one of the things I like is that in expounding the word of God they usually try & bring it back into daily life showing how to apply the word in such a way that we can be a blessing to others. I look for it in preaching & I try to do that on those occassions I give the message. I'm not a great theologian. I can be pretty thick spiritually at times but I figure I'm not alone on this one so I try & keep my talks simple but applicable, remembering everyone is at a different level of their spiritual growth.

Personally some of the best instruction I've had has come out of family talks. We're a bunch of talkers & the older kids can argue like lawyers (even youngest's not bad & boy is she persistant! ) but lots of good stuff often comes out. At least one minister is terrified of us as we often end up with the Quaker ideal of coming into agreement on spiritual matters & once that happens we can't be shaken as a family. This is how we came to leave a church we were attending for a while. And let's face it, the family was always meant to be the first/foundational 'church'.

Funny, servanthood within the family is often the bit I find hardest!

 

[~InHisHands~]

Family is tough to work with. I know mine are. I'm not allowed to talk about God or that part of my life with my family. It's difficult to serve the Lord where they're concerned. All I can really do is pray.

 

[Jehane]

I remember the injunction of wives to husbands - that they might be won without a word. I often think this applies to the unsaved members of our families too. Actions, not words. We can still serve with our actions even if we can't talk about the one who motivates our chices.

 

[~InHisHands~]

I agree with that Jehane. I think my family has seen the change and I also feel that because of this they don't want to spend as much time with me.

 

[Jehane]

Um. You should hear some of the comments we get from the family over issues like modesty. Or worse, how they seem complelled to flaunt their lack of modesty around us! Eeek! My big girl is stricter about some things than I am & ydd is following her lead. You should have heard it when the kid decided she couldn't stomach the traditional type formal dress! Oh, my! Bottom line, I'm accountable to God not my family, so tuff.

 

[~InHisHands~]

Indeed. I think there is a verse on that. Something about anyone who forsakes their family in order to follow Christ. Let me poke around and see if I can find it.

 

[~InHisHands~]

Psalm 27:10
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

I like that one.

AHA! I knew I'd find it! *Grin*
Matthew 19:29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

 

[MrJim]

Bearing our cross in faithfulness is not an easy journey and no one said it would be but can we do anything else?

 

[~InHisHands~]

Not really. If we love the Lord we have to accept the good with the bad and deal with it.

 

[Jehane]

ALL things work together for good for those who love God & are called according to his purposes.

Something I hope those Amish families are holding onto just now too.

 

[~InHisHands~]

Is there some question about their ability to forgive?

 

[Jehane]

No. I was just thinking it can be hard to see good in something like that, or to believe that God can & will use it for good.

 

[ZiSunka]

I have no doubt in my mind that God allowed this tragedy so that his people the Amish could give the worlda glimpse of His ability to forgiven even what seems unforgivable.

It would never occur to me that any Amish person would withhold forgiveness even for such a horrible crime.