Are You Willing to Get Dirty?
Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
Remember the story Jesus told of the good Samaritan? I see myself in that story. Unfortunately, I was more like a Pharisee than the Samaritan. If you remember, the Pharisee wasn’t necessarily bad. Jesus never said the Pharisee was a murderer or even that he was the one who robbed and beat the man on the path. No, He said the Pharisee was so busy with his “doing” church that he forgot about “being the Church.”
Go with me here. As he traveled down the road to serve at the temple, the Pharisee saw a man who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. And what did the Pharisee do? He crossed to the other side because he couldn’t get dirty on his journey. If he had gotten dirty from the bloody, beaten man, he would have been considered unclean and would not have been able to serve at the temple.
That was me. I was so busy doing within the walls of the church, that I wasn’t willing to get “dirty” by the hurt and broken world around me. And let me tell you when I was convicted of that, I became broken! Broken for all that I had missed, missed opportunities to share the love of Jesus. But thank you, Jesus, for forgiveness and the opportunity to start brand new every day!
A few weeks ago, several women in our church took advantage of the opportunity to serve a family – it was a last-minute call to clean and tidy a home, to turn it into a refuge from hospital visits and busy days at work. They definitely got dirty! But oh, were their smiles at the end sincere. They got to be the hands and feet of Jesus!
In the month of March, we, too, can get dirty to serve our community. We, too, can be His hands and feet, taking the love of Jesus and His forgiveness to the broken world around us. Through 3-2-1 Serve, we are sending the Church into our “Jerusalem” to be His witnesses. Just today someone challenged me by asking, “Are you achieving a vision or completing a task?” and I immediately thought of 3-2-1 Serve. The Pharisee was doing a task — serving in the temple. Ouch! Yes, I could totally use 3-2-1 Serve as a “mark it off my list” task, but that is not the goal. It’s time to be the Church!
He asked a follow-up question” “What is your vision description?” He said, “Finish the statement, ‘The 3-2-1 Serve I see is….’” so, I grabbed a pen and began finishing that statement. After I had four pages, I knew it was more than a task; it is truly a vision to achieve.
I am not going to share all four pages with you, but I do want to share a few of the statements. You see, 3-2-1 Serve should not be us completing pharisaical duties, but rather being the Church and loving our neighbor. So here we go….
The 3-2-1 Serve I see …
- Has individuals that reach out to friends and neighbors
- Has individuals engaging in spiritual conversations
- Has individuals who serve the lost and broken
- Has individuals who grow a passion for missions
- Has individuals actively sharing the Gospel of Christ with their friends, family, community, and the world
- Has individuals taking hold of the Great Commission and the call to share Jesus with the world by going on mission locally, nationally, and internationally
- Has families growing stronger together as they serve together
- Has families that grow a heart and passion for serving their community and ultimately the world
- Has families that want to share the hope of Christ with all the broken families they meet
- Has families that develop disciples and servant leaders
- Has groups developing a heart for our community
- Has groups that serve our existing local partners with great joy
- Has groups that draw our members out of the “four walls of the church building”
- Has groups excited about talking about Jesus with our community
I pray that at the end of the month, those who accept the challenge are sharing Jesus more, are serving the broken and hurting world we live in and developing a heart and passion to live on mission. So, I challenge you — how will you serve three times as an individual? What two mission activities will you do as a family to reach out to those who are hurting or lost or just need encouragement? What will you do with a group, whether it’s your LifeGroup, care group, D-Group or Bible study group, to show Jesus to our lost and dying world? Will you accept the challenge?
Check out 3-2-1 Serve opportunities here.
Kimberly Reed
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