What Drives Us to Serve?

“Once a man has experienced the mercy of God in his life he will henceforth aspire only to serve. The proud throne of the judge no longer lures him; he wants to be down below with the lowly and the needy, because that is where God found him.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Bonhoeffer's Life Together is definitely in my top 5 favorites. I wish I were half as smart as him. I love the above quote and find it appropriate for what we have been discussing in church lately. Throughout the summer, Jonathan and Curt have been teaching through our three core values at The Village Church...gospel, community, and mission. We parked on missions most recently and Jonathan spoke specifically about our church's call to mercy ministry or social justice or whatever people are calling it these days (I'm sticking with social justice). I feel that often we become too focused on the external process of social justice and do not as readily address the internal motivations that drive our actions. I love that I am a part of a church that continually articulates both. Jonathan and Curt have driven home the idea that we want to be a church that serves the marginalized and oppressed for the Gospel's sake, NOT merely to feel good about ourselves or check off our service-project-for-the-year box. It's a lifestyle of seeking to relieve others in their distress, because that is what God has done and continues to do for us. To live differently is to paint a false picture of the Gospel, but to live in accordance is to illustrate to others the beautiful picture of Jesus saving us from our mess.

This Saturday we have our first service project for The Village Church and so far about 45 of us are heading to the English Avenue area in west Atlanta to restore a widow's home and play with the kids in the neighborhood. I am excited that this is not a one time deal, but the start of a new relationship with this particular neighborhood in Atlanta. We are going to continue to serve the area and partner with the local church in their neighborhood. (I will post pictures after the weekend.) I hope and pray that we will be a people that are "lured" to the lowly and needy not because it is the trendy thing to do these days, but because that is where God found us.