(The following is the April 20 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read John 12 and pay close attention to verses 23-26.)
Jesus said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (v. 26). The Christian’s desire should be to follow and serve Christ, not seek honor personally. Recognition may come when God honors his faithful servants, but the goal is service, not glory.
A practical implication of this truth is that we shouldn’t seek ministry opportunities based on the visibility or recognition they bring us. We should do ministry regardless of how seemingly menial or unappealing it may be or how unlikely we are to be noticed by others in the process.
The one who prepares food behind the scenes for a crowd gathered to hear a speaker is as essential to the event’s success as the speaker. Perhaps you have known believers who are wonderfully faithful in serving Christ year after year, never seeking recognition and always willing to do the overlooked dirty work. Maybe you’ve also known others who desire the spotlight or opportunities that draw attention to themselves.
On this point, Spurgeon says, “The better way is to serve Christ by following him, by ‘doing the next thing,’ the thing we can do – that simple little act that lies within our capacity, which will bring us no special honor but is what our Lord desires of us.” * Christ equips us to do what he calls us to do. However small and seemingly insignificant, we should joyfully do what he has prepared and guided us to do.
“Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23-24).
Next Step:
How do you currently follow and serve Christ regularly? Why did you choose these ways? Are there other opportunities he may want you to pursue?
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* CSB Spurgeon Study Bible, ed. Alistair Begg (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1445.
