A Servant’s Heart

As “faithful” Christians, we sometimes feel like we should be exempt from certain sufferings or strife. We think we deserve relief or ask God for His favor or merit for our adherence to His word. But Jesus dispels that notion when he tells us that doing what is expected is simply doing one’s duty. God has already blessed us, His believers, with gifts beyond measure. Our service is a response to God’s grace, not a way of earning grace.

We are called to turn ourselves over completely to the Lord. And by becoming His, we can truly understand our heavenly call. This is certainly hard to do with the demands of daily living, but through our expressions of humility, love and servitude, we are faithfully following God’s nurturing plan. Living as God wants us to live is typified by the story of Nick Vujicic:
…On the morning of December 4, 1982, moments after his birth, they laid Nick in his mother's arms. She held a blunt torso. Her firstborn had no arms. No legs. No limbs. Just this one twisted flap of flesh, a foot flipper. She swaddled him close and prayed; and he lived, thrived. Doctors never knew why Nick was born without limbs. Today Nick combs his hair, brushes his teeth, jets around the world on speaking tours, and, astonishingly, even swims.
But it's his words that jolt: . . . “People are touched just by my smile. It's important to be open to the way God wants to use us." Nick, a man with no biceps, no thighs, just teeth and a "'flipper," can get himself a glass of water, type on his keyboard, and shares his hope story with thousands of hurting people. God uses people willing to minister not out of their strengths but out of real weakness. Isn't that how God himself ministered to the world?
The application of today’s readings is clear. Those serving God cannot simply stop working and expect gratitude. Rather, because of our gratitude to God for His gift of faith and love, we must share our faith with others, and strive to bring God’s justice to reality on earth. We do not simply minister for the sake of ourselves. We act out of gratitude for the undeserved gifts we have already received. Nick Vujicic fulfills that faith challenge every day. Can I do anything less?

“Almost-Deacon Don” Battista did his pastoral ministry internship with our campus ministry in 2009. He is a parishioner at St. Peter the Apostle and St. Peter at the Lake Parish in Garrett County, Maryland and will be ordained a deacon in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in May, 2011.

Questions of the Week:
Where is God leading me? How can I be a better servant?

Recommended Reading:
You Are Special by Max Lucado
(Moira has a copy in her office: stop by!)