We glorify God by serving others

Serving in and of itself is easy. I do this daily at work. You just get in there and do what needs to be done.

Oh...

“What needs to be done.”

How is that defined?

Well, there are the surface issues, which are easy to identify, and that’s a good place to start. I can handle that. But then there are the real needs. The things that are below the surface. The things that are causing the pain, the failure, the suffering. How do you find these things? In reality, you’re not providing any service of value unless you address the real issues. As my Sunday School teacher in Washington used to say, “Anything else is using an aspirin to treat a brain tumor.” (To which I would always think, “It might take care of the headache, but you’re still going to die!”)

So how do we get past the surface to the real issues?

We need to love. We need to take the time to get to know the person. We need to build a relationship where the issues can be brought to the surface and dealt with. In short, we need to do the very thing that I can not do.