Talking points with Pastor Lucas: The Christian life

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45, ESV)

Jesus came to seek, to serve, and to save. He is utterly and completely your Savior and mine. And we are His disciples. But what does it mean to serve, and what does it mean to be served?

Jesus answers this.

First, Jesus goes to the cross of Calvary for you. He serves as your replacement. His life for your sins. Crucified, dead, and buried for you, He is raised from the dead for you.

Second, Jesus declares, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). Yet some of us wonder, “Really? Where is He?”

We behold Him regularly in worship in the Divine Service. In bread and wine, His body and blood are truly present for you. Many people wonder where Jesus is and what He’s doing in this world of chaos and hurt. But in Holy Communion, He is there for you, forgiving sins, healing lives, and instilling hope. Therefore, you can depart from the Lord’s Supper—and the whole Divine Service—having heard and received the Good News, knowing the Good News, believing the Good News, and trusting the Good News that you have been served personally by the Lord Jesus Christ as the bread of life.

Christ Himself serves you.

His Word breathes life back into your broken spirit. His Sacrament brings healing to your wearied body and relief to your burdened conscience. His blessing speaks hope into your heart and sends you into service of others.

In fact, Lutherans call worship the Divine Service because Jesus is there serving you with His Word and Spirit. In it, you are renewed and refreshed, forgiven and freed, discipled and then dispersed out into your daily vocations and stations of life. Thus, the service you give to others through your multiple Christian vocations is an expression of God’s action through you. It, too, is a service that flows out of the Divine Service.

But who do we serve and how do we serve?

Look around you. Look at your spouse. Look at your children. Look across the street. Look in the cubicle next to you. Look at the car driver in front of you.

The settings where God has placed you are filled with people needing to be served by you.

Each of your vocations is filled with people to serve—family, friends, coworkers, strangers in need, fellow congregation members, and neighbors in your community. Your journey as one who follows Christ is seen in those you serve in the name of Christ.

Your acts of service will not look the same as everyone else’s. Even your acts of service today will not look the same as your acts of service next year—different points in your life afford different types of service. A mother who cares for her children is not the same as a mail carrier who delivers mail. A father is not the same as a doctor. A pastor who absolves a broken sinner is not the same as a mayor governing a town. A dairy farmer is not the same as a firefighter.

The joy in all this service is that regardless of your station in life, each service is equally valuable before God. Despite how society seems to value each vocation, the service you provide for others is tremendously God-pleasing. In fact, Martin Luther put it plainly when he said that even a farmer can shovel manure to the glory of God and a mother change diapers to the glory of God.

Christians live a life of service.

Because we follow Christ, who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” we live lives of service. To serve Christ is to serve in our daily vocations.

However, the battle that we must endure is the temptations we face in each of our vocations. In fact, this is Satan’s first line of attack. He tempts us to sin in our various vocations. He wants us to abandon those vocations.

Lose your temper with the kids, gossip about your coworker, criticize your spouse, drive past your neighbor in need, create division in your congregation, ignore the chance to witness to the unbeliever—temptations abound. Failures flourish. Sin is seen. It hurts. It heckles. It hardens your heart.

But here, you and I are called to repent. Here, we are called to change our ways. “Repent and believe the Good News,” Jesus said (Mark 1:15). Yet it is also here where Christ personally comes to serve us with His own body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins, for all the times we sin in our various vocations. In Holy Communion, Jesus says, “Take and drink, this is my blood, shed for you.”

Jesus graciously serves us a feast of everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Yes, you are served by the very Son of God Himself. Our worship is truly a Divine Service.

In it, Jesus breathes life back into your broken spirit. He brings healing to your wearied body and forgiveness to your burdened conscience. He fortifies your faith with His Holy Spirit. His blessing speaks hope into your heart and sends you back into service of others. It is all by divine arrangement. As Jesus serves you, He sends you to served others in your daily vocations because the service you give to others is an expression of God’s action through you.

This is the Christian life:

We live being graciously served by our Lord, who sends us into the service of others to love and serve them in His name.

Your brother in Christ,

Pastor Lucas

Rev. Dr. Lucas V. Woodford
President
Minnesota South District, LCMS
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