GALATIANS 6:9-10 – “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE WEARINESS OF SERVICE. The greatly used man of God of the 18th century, George Whitefield, was a man who seemed tireless in his labors for the Lord. Traveling up and down the east coast preaching open air, running an orphanage in Georgia, and logging many miles on horseback, his strength was amazing. But he knew fatigue. He knew exhaustion. He once said, “I grow weary in the service of the Lord, but not of the service of the Lord.” Ponder that. It is very important as we seek to serve the Lord out of fervent love for the Lord and the people we serve.
In today’s scripture, the Apostle Paul reminds us not to grow weary in doing good or rendering acceptable service to the Lord. Why the negative emphasis? Because we do grow weary, and it is important we grasp that the service for the Lord that truly counts is the service for the Lord marked by two qualities.
First, the service for the Lord that counts and is acceptable by Him is motivated and sustained by love; love toward Him, and love toward others. This truth is captured in the Great Commandment given by our Lord, and its qualities stated by the Apostle Paul . . .
“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets”” (Matthew 22:34-40).
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:1-8).
Biblical love is defined by action. When God tells us of His love it is in the context of sacrifice, the costly sacrifice of His Son, the Lord Jesus, and it was exhausting. Weariness characterized all of the life of Jesus because His life was one of service, sacrificial service moved and controlled by love.
The second quality in the service of the Lord that is acceptable to Him is the object – people. I know this might sound obvious but be careful. We can love the service more than the people we serve. This lacks authenticity and is more pointed to self-love. All service is people oriented foremost. Love is relational and so is service!
Weariness is the price to pay in serving the Lord, but the rewards are tremendous. We experience greater joy in Jesus and have the privilege of serving people for Jesus.
PRAYER: Father, may I learn to trust the strength of Your grace and joy when I am growing weary in serving others.
REFLECTION: The price to render acceptable service to the Lord will be toil that exhausts, labor that is costly.