“For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves
Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let
us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:17-19
“Those
who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their
faith in Christ Jesus.” I Timothy 3:13
What do volleyball,
tennis and ping pong have in common with FredWes?
A good serve is hard
to beat! And the
FredWes family served well and we had an experience that will be hard to beat!
I have never been
more proud of a group of Wesleyans than I was last night watching you lavishly
loving people and meeting needs!
Here are three
reasons why I was so pleased by the dinner last night:
The event was well planned, well organized and well executed. Not only does that reflect well on you but more importantly it reflects well on God and it communicates to those we served that they are worthy of our best.
You served with
empathy!
By the way you served
them you communicated your recognition of their needs without seeming
judgmental or condescending. That is HUGE when you serve under-privileged
people. You did it very well!
When you serve the
working poor you must do it with the very real understanding that you are just
one or two bad breaks away from being where they are.
You served with
enthusiasm!
Last night required a
lot of hard work and long periods on your feet but you looked as fresh at the
end as you did at the beginning! It was obvious you were excited about being
there and energetic about serving them. Enthusiasm literally means “in God”
from the root words “en theos”! You were clearly “en theos” last night!
Our annual church
Thanksgiving dinner is an event I always enjoy and look forward to. I know many
of you do, too. So to give that up to serve others was no small sacrifice. But
in retrospect I think you agree it was a good decision!
From my perspective
it seemed that the fellowship between our folks was better, there was more
excitement among our people AND in the end we got to eat together anyway!
God got a big win through us last night! To Him goes all the glory!
Pray that the seeds
of kindness we sowed last night will result in continuing ministry
opportunities among this group and ultimately result into conversions for the
Kingdom!
God was well
served by FredWes last night!