Richard D, 1 September 2020

The Gospel, or at least belief in the Gospel, implies some priorities in life and we tend to argue over what these might be. Some point to the importance of conversion, some to the priority of discipleship, some to the majesty of the person of God and some to worship. To be honest all of these are vital but if I were to pick one it wouldn’t be any of these. When I first became a Christian, an adult Christian, the first thing God led me to was service.
I found a new desire and call to serve… anyone and everyone. It was as if the love of God was welling up within me to be expressed by serving others. And it made an immediate change in ways I could never have imagined.
In the first place I confounded all my teachers who’d come to expect well… nothing really from me. They began whispering behind my back about what had happened and what they thought was the ‘problem!’ Secondly my own cohort wondered what had happened and began to view me in a completely different light, so much so that at the beginning of my final year at school I was nominated to be head boy. Clearly, I hadn’t convinced my teachers because they took me aside and asked me to step down which I did because I wanted to devote my spare time to teach a youth group.
Finally, I found that my understanding of leadership began to grow and develop as I found more people willing to follow someone who was willing to serve not just them but anyone. Suffice to say the Gospel gained much traction in my life and the life of those I served through this new commitment to serve others.
We believe. That is good. But belief must find expression or it remains a dead thought. Will we, can we, dare we serve?