Honorable Service

July 4

I Chronicles 8-9

Psalm 78:9-16

Proverbs 17:5-6

Romans 1

Honorable Service

“Now some were over the utensils of service….Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the frankincense and the spices.”  I Chronicles 9:28-29 LSB 

For years all the lists of names and genealogies in the Bible just annoyed me and I would skip over them because I didn’t think they were important, but I don’t do that anymore.  I have come to realize that every one of those names is an individual person that God included in His word.  They each mattered enough to God to make sure that they were in His word for generations of believers to read.  Everyone matters to God.  He listed each one separately.  I Chronicles 9 goes even further because it tells a little about them.  Each person had a purpose and a role in God’s kingdom.  They each had a part to play.  Some were over the utensils, some over the furniture, some over the flour and wine and oil.  Some were singers, some gatekeepers, and some were guards.  Verse 25 even explains that their relatives in their villages were to come in every seven days from time to time to be with them and support them in their work.  They each carried out their role diligently and with great care because every job was important.  Whether they were guarding the entrance to the temple or making the bread for the offering, each act of service was significant. 

God cares about each one of us individually and personally.  He doesn’t look down from heaven and see groups of people to interact with.  He sees each and every one of us and He wants to have a personal, intimate relationship with us.  He has created us with gifts, talents, abilities, and personality traits that make us unique and He uses those things to help us fulfill our God ordained purpose.  We each have a role in the Body of Christ.  We are intended to serve and to work within the body of believers where He has placed us.  Our service may be teaching, singing, rocking babies in the nursery, directing traffic in the parking lot, working in VBS, encouraging our fellow believers, visiting people in the hospital or cooking meals for those who are sick.  Some roles may be more visible while others are behind the scenes but each act of service is important to God and does not go unnoticed.  Are you fulfilling your role within the body?  Service to and for God gives our lives meaning and purpose.  If you are not serving in your church, I would encourage you to ask God to show you where you can serve.  If you make yourself available, He will put you to work.  You cannot experience the fullness of your relationship with God if you are not actively participating in service to Him.