This past week, I preached at my church’s “Traditions” worship service on Sunday evening geared toward our older generation. I was thrilled to see about a dozen younger faces attend this service for the first time. One couple in particular sat on the front row. They looked “young and hip” (especially for this service where most of those attending could be my parents or grandparents). They had their Bibles open and took notes the entire sermon. I remember thinking, “Man, it is going to be great having a couple like this coming on Sunday evenings!” When I spoke to them after the service, they told me they were visiting family and would be traveling back to Cincinnati, OH. They were appreciative of the service especially because their church had just started a similar series which they had missed because they were away.
I have to admit, I was initially disappointed. As I have reflected back on this event, I realized that I was more interested in the “success” of the service than I was in “serving” them. God didn’t need me to evangelize that couple, get them involved in a Sunday School class, or add them to our church role. He only needed me to fill the void while they were away from their home church. How humbling! I do not think it was coincidental that Oswald Chambers devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, states in today’s entry, “It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God-but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people…”
Am I okay with the “service” God has before me, or will I only be pleased with “success” in the eyes others? God is not nearly as interested in the sizes of our churches as we are. He is not nearly as concerned with stats as He is with our service. The question the Holy Spirit has been nagging me with all week has been, “Robert, are you okay with just serving Me?” That question should bother me more often. Perhaps it should you as well.
