Loving and serving
In “Thank, Praise, Serve and Obey”, Pastor Will Weedon explores the joy of piety. This extract encourages us to look at good works with fresh eyes.
“If you think back to your childhood, perhaps you remember excitement on Easter morning. Not just a basket of goodies, ready prepared with chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs and marshmallow chicks. Those were great too, but what I am talking about is the hunt on Easter morning! The hunt for Easter eggs. Picture yourself for a moment again as a little one, with a basket in hand, toddling off. Can you hear yourself squeal in delight when you spy a coloured egg peeking out from under a bush? You run to get it, put it in your basket, and then, eager-eyed, you search the horizon for another one. And another.
Have you ever thought of good works like that? They are wonderful little surprises that God has strewn all around us to delight us and give us Easter joy as we do them. Is not this how St Paul describes good works in Ephesians 2?
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked... by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 1:1-2, 3-10)
Paul couldn’t be any clearer: No, your good works don’t save you. Rather, God saves you, by grace, through faith – and even that faith isn’t something you come up with. No, it is His gift to you. God is the doer of the verbs! He creates you anew through resurrection with Christ to a new life (through Baptism), also creating you anew for good works. He even prepares these good works for you beforehand. Long before you see the opportunity for good works or recognise it, it was in God’s heart as a gift for you. By that good work He lets you exercise the resurrection life planted in you at your Baptism. That means that all around you every single day, in your different callings, a huge variety of “Easter eggs” await your discovery and enjoyment. Do you see how this sets everything on its head? We like to think of good works as works we do for God’s sake. That’s backwards! Good works are actually gifts that God gives us.
What is the essence of these good works, these gracious opportunities to live the resurrection life? It boils down to one word, so abused and misunderstood: love. By “love” I do not at all mean the emotional high that people often think of: Hollywood’s vacuous kind of love. It is, rather, God’s love for us in Christ Jesus that stirs us to love and care for one another. This love helps us perceive that the opportunity to serve and do good is a gift handed to us from the Father, who by this gift is inviting us to get in on the spreading of His own love.
To train ourselves to perceive and recognise the “Easter eggs” that our Heavenly Father has planted around us, we can turn to two related parts of the catechism: the Ten Commandments and the Table of Duties. Both open our eyes to see all the gifts that surround us every day, just waiting for us to discover and enjoy them...
... What is the most wonderful thing about learning to live this “Easter egg” hunt sort of life? This sort of life ends up leading others to praise the heavenly Father. This is exactly what Jesus was getting at when he told the disciples in the Sermon on the Mount: “You are the light of the world... let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). “Easter eggs” are the opposite of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen and noticed by them. They are not focused on how pious you are; they are simply all about love. Being “other” focused. Seeing a need and seeing the person behind the need; honouring them by helping in whatever ways you can, big or small. “Easter eggs” abounding!”
This extract is published with permission from the author. Will Weedon’s book Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey: Recover the Joys of Piety is available from Concordia Publishing House or by contacting Creative Word Fellowship.
How do we recognise the good works God has set out for us?
Pray! Ask the Lord to open your eyes to see the needs of those around you.
Spend time in the catechism. Luther’s explanations of the Ten Commandments help us to shift our eyes from ourselves to how we love our neighbours, and how we are to do the good work of praising God and serving Him in faithfulness. The Table of Duties shows us the ways we can serve others in our various vocations.
Consider how you can serve those close to you, the people in your community and those far away.
Out of his great love for you, God has given you everything – your life, your physical needs, many blessings and most importantly salvation through Christ Jesus. Recognising this and that He daily provides for you, look for opportunities to give to others in the same way. How can you use your money and assets to bless others? This could be in directly meeting a physical need, like the Good Samaritan, or in giving to the mission and ministry of the church locally, nationally or overseas.
Look for opportunities to give of your time and presence, spending time with people who are lonely or struggling through hard times. You might consider visiting people, offering hospitality, making a phone call or sitting down to listen to someone.
God has given you talents. Consider how you can use those talents to be a blessing to others.