Servant to All

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 ESV
19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

It seems that becoming a servant to all is very important. In my studies it usually comes up regarding fellow believers (Romans 15:1; Mark 10:44-45). But in this instance it is most definitely about those who haven't accepted Christ yet. We generally only focus on one part of this passage, "...I have become all things to all people, that by all means, I might save some." However it all starts by being a servant to all.

How do you do that? We are in this world, but not of it. We are sojourners as we remain in the flesh. That doesn't mean we have to go through this journey with blinders on. We don't have to hide from the world (sometimes we do - but we went over that; as long as we are an influence and not being influenced we don't have to hide). We may not be able to make a difference in the whole world, but we can make a difference in individuals' lives.

As a pastor, I notice that my influence is limited. Even this blog is designed for those who have accepted Christ, so I focus on the maturing process. But my responsibility for witness and evangelism is the same as everyone else, so I look for opportunities to be "a servant to all" and not just the brethren.

I look for ways to help out neighbors when I can. Helping get cars out of the snow, sharing veggies from our jungle garden, etc. That means my mission field is my neighborhood which is a challenge for me as I am by nature an isolationist. The Lord calls me to go beyond how I've generally lived my life and to talk to those over the white picket fence. I can't give you many examples here, because I'm still growing in this area, but I know that as long as I can be a helpful neighbor as often as I can that it will be noticed. And when I'm asked why, then I can share the gospel, how it changed my life into where I want to be a servant. (1 Peter 3:15)

You Can't Force Them to Love the Lord

1 Samuel 8:1-3
When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

It seems like someone like Samuel would have sons that followed after the Lord, and whose ways would be pleasing to the Lord. Samuel became a priest because Eli's sons did the same thing (1 Sam 2) - they extorted people instead of serving the Lord.

So what does that mean to the Christian parent? Is it hopeless? What do you do when your child desires the world more than the Lord? This is a two-edged sword; though you cannot force your child to love the Lord... Because only God draws people to Him. (John 14:6; Romans 1:6; Col 3:15; Jude 1:1). We need to be established in the fact that this task is the Lord's. But we have our task, this child needs to know about the Lord (Pr 22:6; Rom 10:13-14).

How do you train your child? Are you one way at church, then another way at home? Do you talk about people's "shortcomings" around your child? Is your life and your attitude enough to be desired by your child? Remember, training the child the Bible without you living it is pointless - your child needs to see Jesus in you before he/she will see the Lord as real. Okay, it is possible for you to be a horrible parent and your child can come to the Lord, but as we said before you need to do your task.