The Religious Nerd

There have only been a few times in my life where I have gone to bed physically hungry.  The last time I remember being hungry was when I fasted a few times several years ago during a season of repentance in my life. During the fasts, I had a fridge full of food that I could have eaten at any moment if I had chosen to.  Sometimes during a fast I would think “I’m going to go get a delicious juicy burger when I get done with this”.  How sad, instead of focusing on developing a hunger for God, I allowed my mouth to water over a cheeseburger instead.

I have never been faced with a situation where I could either pay my rent or buy groceries. I have always had both, and to be honest I have had an abundance of both. The good Lord put me into a family with a father who always provided for his wife and children’s needs. I have had constant work since the day I turned 16 and have never been laid off or fired from a job.  I have always had a roof over my head.   When you come from a background like mine it can be difficult to relate to those who don’t have the basic necessities of life such as food and shelter.

Believe it or not, there are people who are sitting next to you in church on Sunday morning who are in this situation. While they may not be holding signs on the side of the freeway asking for cash, they are in a desperate situation both financially and spiritually.You wouldn’t know it by how they are dressed. You wouldn’t guess it from the smile on their face or the friendly greeting you receive when you take your seat.
These people even nod their head and say “uh-huh” as you are telling them how hard it is for your family this year financially because you didn’t get your yearly Christmas bonus (all the while they are thinking “if only I could make enough to feed my children”).   People who are sitting next to you at church on Sunday morning have empty fridges and pantries and are going to bed starving!  For the longest time I never considered that.

When I discovered that my church was going to start a food bank, I knew God was calling me to get involved.  He has fed me my whole life, and now it was time for me to go feed others.  But how? Should I just sign up as a volunteer and go at it?  Should I do it for that warm fuzzy feeling I get when I do something nice for someone else? That warm and fuzzy feeling sure is nice, I can’t deny that but I knew that if I went ahead and volunteered at the food bank with a self motive, I would ultimately burn out and quit.  I sat down and thought about it.  I studied the scriptures and spent time in prayer.  I talked about it with my wife and came to the conclusion that if I do it (volunteer at the food bank) that I can’t do it for me.  I have to do it for Jesus if I am to expect any fruit to come from my serving! One thing was for certain, I wasn’t going to sit around anymore.  God had lit a fire in my bones and I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

If you are like me than you have made excuses to avoid getting your hands dirty.  You have gone to church and never considered that the person sitting next to you needs to be fed both spiritually and physically.  You can make a difference at your church regardless of how big or small it may be it only requires that you surrender your ministry to Jesus and trust God to lead you through the good times and bad.  Spend some time thinking about your ministry.  Is it for God’s glory? Do you pray asking Him to do that most precious miracle of saving the unsaved? Are your thoughts and intentions Christ centered ? Come back later for the second part of my series on “Doing Christian Ministry From a Christ Centered Perspective” and I will encourage you with 5 ideas of how you can do ministry in a Christ centered way.