Christian service can sometimes feel unglamorous, lonely, and unappreciated. It is a reality many of us face as we serve God, His church, and all people. Some might dismiss us for even feeling this way, arguing the whole point of Christian service is, well, service, and not needing to feel appreciated. While there is a grain of truth in that way of thinking, we are only human, and the Bible never teaches loneliness or invisibility as the operating system of service.
The writer of the letter of Hebrews lends some light into this matter, and what good news it is! In Hebrews 6:10, he writes, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” Wow! Can you imagine that? God will not overlook our service to others.
Serving other people, waiting at the table, is not really a glamorous thing. And it shouldn’t be. The Lord Jesus demonstrated this by hanging on the cross for us … hardly a glamorous thing. And that is Christian service.
Imagine you’re the person handling the song lyrics on screen during your church’s worship service. You do it because you want to make sure everyone is able to not just follow along with the songs but also to make sure nothing hinders them from worshipping God. But for the rest of the congregation, it’s just slides which are being changed.
Or you might be the person who tirelessly works in the background, hidden from sight, washing all the plates and cups in the church kitchen after a service, long after everybody has gone back home.
If that is you, the good news from our passage today is that God sees you, He will not overlook your service. He knows what you are doing, intimately. And if God is so invested in our service and He does not overlook, isn’t that motivation enough to continue growing and continue serving?
As Paul says in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Our growth, our service, and our love … it’s all directed upward, toward the One who reigns from above. And if it is all directed to God, and as the writer of Hebrews says “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work”, doesn’t that lead us to serve Him with gladness of heart?
Our approval, ultimately, comes from our heavenly Master, and it is He who will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” So, let us keep serving and not lose heart.
Prayer: Father, in all that I do, I thank You that You do not overlook. As Your Scripture says, all that I do, whether in word or deed, I do it as unto the Lord Jesus, empowered by Your Holy Spirit. May my service be pleasing to you, God. Would You accept it as my act of worship to You? In my Saviour’s name I pray, Amen.