Differences between serving and receiving

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him [Jesus]. (Matthew 4:11 KJV)

Thinkers think and doers do. But until the thinkers do and the doers think, progress will be just another word in the already overburdened vocabulary of the talkers who talk. (Anonymous)

How often do we recognize the need to do something or do we just think about doing something? When unforeseen events occur or happenings evolve unexpectedly in our lives, our independence becomes vulnerable because our needs overshadow our capabilities. At that moment we wonder anxiously for someone to intervene on our behalf.  Yet, these events actually create opportunities for doing something even though our dependence outweighs our independence. In other words, our lack of resources can fuel the opportunities for doing instead of receiving.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked. "Fifty cent," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain disk of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she harshly replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies (15 cents). You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Scripture paints a similar picture when the Savior fasted for forty days in the wilderness where Satan tempted Him. During the fast or after the fast, Satan reminded the Savior of His status and His supernatural capabilities as an independent being. “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Matthew 4:3). Remember a fast enables you to give up a physical craving to fulfill a greater spiritual need. Yet, the Savior who was definitely hungry during this 40-day period resisted this temptation of self-feeding while rendering an answer to Satan by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In other words, the Savior demonstrates His willingness to trust God the Father to provide rather than to act independently of God. The Savior used this temptation as submission to God’s Word instead of acting independently from God by resolving the issue Himself.  Likewise as believers, we must develop a dependence on God especially during difficult periods in our lives instead of acting independent from God, we must act as dependent on God.

Secondly, Satan changes the Savior’s setting by taking Him to the pinnacle of the temple. This test explored a shortcut for the Savior to meet His mission quickly by revealing His power in the streets of Jerusalem. This requested action of falling from the temple and having angels save Him would have demonstrated His heavenly authority. The spectators at the Temple would have been awe struck just to see this spectacular demonstration of angels swooping down to save Jesus. Satan even quoted Psalm 91:11-12 as proof of God’s promise of angelic protection. The problem with this shortcut is that it totally ignores God’s plan for the Savior while bypassing the Cross. Likewise, as believers we must remove any shortcuts in our lives and stay the course toward Kingdom’s work despite our feeble desires and impatient wishes to move ahead of God’s timing. Remember the impatience of Sarah and Abraham in waiting for the promised son, Isaac which led to the creation of first recorded blended family as Abraham’s son, Ishmael and his mother, Hagar.

Finally, Satan presented the ultimate reward in the form of wealth and power from the kingdoms of this world. The cost only required that the Savior fall down and acknowledge Satan as lord. Even today, Satan wants our worship and he still uses his tactful deception techniques. Remember the scene with Adam and Eve when they took his advice and ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet, the Savior quoted another Scripture, “worship the LORD your God, and serve only Him.” (Deut. 6:13). Likewise, as believers, we must avoid following our own agenda but accept God’s agenda. If the Savior is our ultimate authority, He deserves our exclusive service each day of the week.

Notice the transpiring of events at the end of these temptations. Matthew recorded that the heavenly angels came and ministered to Jesus. When the fallen angel, Satan left, faithful angels came. These faithful angels fulfilled their duties by ministering and worshiping the Savior. Notice the differences, Satan wanting to receive something from Jesus instead the heavenly angels gave to Jesus. Satan wanting to receive Jesus’ worship and service while the heavenly angels gave worship and service. How often as believers, we travel the path of Satan wanting to receive from the Savior instead of giving to Him like the heavenly angels.  In other words, instead of doing for HIM we rather think about what we can receive from HIM. For believers to develop dependence on God, we must remove the tendency of pursuing shortcuts and stop following our own agenda. Mainly, we must perform the true path of worship by serving instead of receiving. Then, you will realize your role as sons of God who can perform the ultimate duty as ministering to the Lord and Savior, Jesus just like heavenly angels. Even the Apostle Paul notes that the ones who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14). As sons of God, we have the right to serve HIM because when He appears we shall be just like Him. As believers, we will experience our true calling as noted in I John 3:2, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Therefore, I encourage you to do like the heavenly angels and serve your Savior even when mayhem occurs in your life. Remember, Thinkers think and doers do. But until the thinkers do and the doers think, progress will be just another word in the already overburdened vocabulary of the talkers who talk. Learn to do like the 10 year old boy who left a tip in spite of the waitress’ service unlike Satan who only wants to receive your service.