Day 22—Service is a joy

Our passage today declares that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good things.” We have been called for a purpose! We are called to love our neighbor, serve the poor, uplift the widow and orphan, comfort the afflicted, seek after the lost, retrieve those on the margins and bring them into the center, disciple others, care for children, announce the gospel, and more! We are “God’s accomplishment!”

Think of service this way: In Christ, you have been freed to live a new way of life. You have been freed for obedience, graciously undertaking the tasks God has given you. You no longer do good works to justify yourself, as though caring for the poor, speaking truth to power, advocating for justice, or converting others to Christ would improve or solidify your standing with God. You do them because God has planned these goods things as your way of life, in which you now are privileged to participate.

Service, then, is no longer a burden, but a joy. It is a grace. God has chosen you! And God desires to act in and through you! This is to be our way of life. We are made for good works.

God, may I discover deep joy in service of your purposes, and may I deeply sense your Holy Spirit at work making me holy. Amen.