In the final scene of the musical Les Miserables, Jean Valjean looks back on his life of service amid great hardship, asks God’s forgiveness for his sins, and with his final breath states the principle that has been his guide: “To love another person is to see the face of God.”
Loving one another is second only to loving God, and when we serve others in love, we worship God through obedience to his commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
Loving your neighbor includes serving them, and as in everything else, Christ set the standard. Serving others was at the very heart of his ministry, and he demonstrated it in ways both simple and inconceivable – from humbly washing the feet of his disciples to dying on the cross for our salvation.
Even before the miracle of his death and resurrection, Christ’s call to servanthood was radical, turning the established order upside down. He said: “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves” (Luke 22:27). By following Christ’s example and serving others, we’re not just saying we are Christians. We’re being Christ-like.
As members of a dynamic, outward-reaching community of faith, we have no shortage of ways to serve others. We can participate in programs that help the needy throughout our region, such as Adam’s Baskets, Bryan’s House, Exodus Ministry, Family Pathfinders, Habitat for Humanity, Interfaith Housing, International Friends, The Stewpot, Vickery Community Action Team, White Rock Center of Hope, Wilkinson Center, 4-S Ministry and blood drives. We can serve the needs of people in distant lands with mission trips around the globe.
Numerous opportunities to serve and nurture others also exist within our own church. We can teach preschoolers, lead Bible studies and visit the homebound. We can serve each other in worship by singing in the choir, being ushers or greeters, spending thoughtful time in the prayer room. We can provide financial support through our tithes and gifts, and we can serve on committees that shape and mold our work together.
At Wilshire, there truly is a place of service for everyone. If you’re tempted to say: “I’m not talented. I’m not equipped,” then find strength in the words of 1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Not surprisingly, this administering of God’s grace is the ultimate purpose for our lives as defined by Rick Warren in his bestseller The Purpose Driven Life.
“God redeemed you so you could do his holy work,” writes Warren. “You’re not saved by service, but you are saved for service. In God’s kingdom, you have a place, a purpose, a role, a function to fulfill. This gives your life great significance and value.”
Our value is not measured in pocketfuls of cash, pats on the back or plaques on the walls. It’s realized in something infinitely more valuable – an intimate relationship with God.
Jean Valjean alludes to this relationship – “to see the face of God” – in his final confession of faith. And not coincidentally, his words echo the gospel of Jesus Christ: “When you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”