Nervous About Service
I don’t remember what grade I was in at the time, but I remember the details of what happened very well. Let me first say that, in my younger years, I was somewhat different from what I am now. Back then I was a rather timid individual. I was not nearly so competitive as I am now. Anyway, I was at the Opryland Amusement Park. It sat where the Opryland shopping mall now stands. There was a ride there that was the first of its kind. It was a double-looping rollercoaster that attained the necessary speed for the two loops on a downhill run that was as fast as any coaster of its time. I wanted to try this coaster, but, alas, I was a bit nervous. I walked slowly toward the ride all the while gazing at what might be my final destiny. I hesitated a few times. I wanted to turn back all the time. Just when I thought I might lose my last bit of courage, a boy, many years my junior, pushed his way past me running up to the starting gate.
That’s all it took! I was not going to let some little kid show me up! I rode the coaster and enjoyed it immensely! As I triumphantly disembarked (having peeled my fingers from the handle), I gloried in this latest accomplishment. I had overcome my nervousness and had won a great personal victory! Jesus said, “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:26) The requirements of serving Jesus should make anyone nervous. However, the consequences of not serving Him should make anyone terrified! Don’t be too nervous about service!
However, the key to fulfilling service is service that is not coerced or commanded. It is true that service is commanded. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (I Corinthians 15:58). No one can make a case that service is not commanded in Scripture. The entirety of one’s Christian life must be invested in service. But, how do we make our service a joy and not a burden? Oddly enough, the place to go to find this answer is a text that was written to bondservants. “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.” (Ephesians 6:5-8). This word is clouded in our minds because of the American experience with slavery. Paul is talking almost exclusively to those who are indentured servants. These are people who have a debt they cannot pay. They have “bonded” themselves to a master who will pay their debts in exchange for their service. This text, then, is the pattern principle for all of God’s bondservants. When we follow these principles, we experience service without command (though it is required)!
— Mike Johnson
