Should we pursue success in the Lord’s service? Let me put it this way, “Do you want to be a failure at such a vital assignment?” I want to hear above all when I stand before the Judge, “Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your Lord,” (Matt. 25:23). The question is, “By what metric do we measure success?”
In the modern church world it is has often been gauged by how many buildings we put up, how many bucks we took up, and how many backsides we sat down. Those are not insignificant, but not the final measurement. Paul lists three standards for successful service in 1 Thessalonians 2:10 that any servant of the Lord can attain.
First, we are to be devoted toward God, “how devoutly…we behaved.” This is service that is RESPONSIVE. The grace of God was not given in vain to Paul. He was devoted to the Savior who dedicated Himself to the Apostle. His service was not to earn God’s favor, but a response to God’s love. In Rom. 12:1, he set this as our standard, “ “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” The first commandment is to love God with all our being.
Second, we are to be just toward man, “how…justly…we behaved.” This is service that is RIGHTEOUS. Our conduct in the world is to be just in how we deal with our fellowman. In the neighborhood, the marketplace, or wherever we go, we are to treat people right! The second commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. To claim to love God is only credible as we love those who are created in His image.
Third, we are to be blameless toward believers, “how…blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe.” This is service that is RIGOROUS. We are called to scrupulously seek sanctification. Holiness is to be the gauge of our service in the fellowship of the saints. It should be more than a claim expressed, but a conduct exhibited. God is our Creator and we are to love Him, humanity is His creation and we are to love them, but the church is His Bride and we are to love her. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another,” (John 13:34). The church is His new creation and Christ calls us to a new love that He demonstrated —a rigorous commitment to the people of God.
Be faithful in pursuing these three spheres of service and God will make you fruitful as He sees fit.
