When thinking about verses that have helped me learn the
importance of service, my mind immediately jumps to Romans 12, which is my
very favorite chapter of the Bible.
Therefore,
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. Do not conform to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will
be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect
will.
For
by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more
highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in
accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many
members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body,
and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If
your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is
teaching, then teach; if it is to
encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if
it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Romans
12: 1-8
I first truly understood this passage on my very first
mission trip, at the age of 23. I had been attending church for about a year
and decided that my church’s trip to the Dominican Republic seemed like a
really cool adventure and a great way to spend a week in July. It was…but not
in any way that I expected!
We spent a week working with locals to build a parsonage for
a church, and helped run a VBS for a local pastor that we have a very strong
partnership with, Luis. It was amazing and humbling to walk in support of local
leadership. We spent time with Luis’s family and congregation and really get to
know the community that we were supporting.
I remember being super frustrated, at the beginning of the
week, with teammates who weren’t committed to or successful with the
construction task at hand. I felt that I had to prove that I could do it all,
so that I could show everyone that I was doing my mission trip “the right way.”
I was pretty new to the church at that point and was still processing what
“following Christ” meant in my life.
One morning our devotional time focused on Romans 12, and
how our gifts all come together to build a community of people following
Christ.
And that was the moment of true conversion for me.
The people on my team who were not gifted in construction
(and, despite my best efforts, I DEFINITELY include myself in that group!) kept
everyone’s water bottles full, offered encouragement, played with the kids in
the neighborhood and used their amazing gifts to offer support to those who
were building, and, when it came time to run the VBS, those were the people who
thrived. They didn’t need any extra push to sit on the floor and spend a few
hours coloring and playing with the kids.
I felt like I was watching the Bible come to life and walk
down the street with me. I truly saw the value of serving as a team. I began to see my gifts and weaknesses as God given. Each of our weaknesses give another
person space to truly shine, just the way God made them.
I am so thankful for that trip. It was the very beginning of
a journey that led me to exactly where I am today. I was baptized as a new
daughter in Christ on the last day of that trip and I committed my life to loving
and serving the Lord and His people in the spirit of Romans 12. Living out my
gifts and giving my beautiful brothers and sisters room to live out theirs -
because no one’s giftedness is any more important than anyone else’s. They work
together to create the glorious body of Christ right here on Earth.
- Jessica Fothergill, CSM Boston Associate City Director
1 comment:
Jessica, the way you embraced your role in the team and served your teammates is a great example of embracing your place and taking advantage of that in order to serve others. You might be interested in my post on five reasons to serve others: http://servicewithoutborders.blogspot.com/2014/10/five-reasons-to-serve-others.html
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