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Join the 'Servolution'!

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Tuesday, 15 March 2011 11:31

Servolution. It’s a different kind of word. It’s a different kind of revolution. Usually we think of revolutions as involving angry mobs or military coups, but this is an entirely different angle. It is a revolution that starts by serving those around you. And it isn’t a revolution that unseats governments and political forces. It changes hearts and lives. It makes people realize that there’s a loving God who wants to forgive their sins and give them hope.

So how do you start a servolution? Jesus demonstrated it very clearly in John 13 when he washed the disciples’ feet. The Bible says, “He showed them the full extent of his love” by stooping down to serve them (see John 13:1, NIV). What a huge portrayal of the heart of God!

Jesus not only left Heaven to become one of us, to lay down His life for our sin and break the power of sin and death. He also showed us His love by serving those around Him. What’s more, Jesus served them even though in just a few hours, these very men whose feet He washed would deny they ever knew him. He still served them.

This is why I believe it is important that we don’t choose whom we serve based on the best “return on our investment.” We need to serve others even if they may never repay us. We need to because it is that kind of demonstration of love that truly communicates the heart of God.

At Healing Place Church, when we decided to start a Dream Center in downtown Baton Rouge, and when we launched our two campuses in Africa, I assure you it wasn’t based on the potential of increased revenue from those areas. We just knew these were ways we could serve others—others who had been forgotten, who were hurting and who needed the love of Jesus.

We need to be willing to serve others regardless of their potential capacity to return the favor. What we are looking for is the opportunity to share the love of Jesus. That’s it. That’s the “return on investment” that counts most.

I want to challenge you to do something. Think of the people in your community who are being overlooked, people whom no one else wants to serve. Are there neighborhoods shunned by churches because the people look different than they do? Are there groups of people who get ignored because there’s little or no chance that they’ll ever participate in a local church?

It takes a lot of effort to help those caught in the sex trade. It’s not likely that many residents of nursing homes will regularly attend your church. It’s tough on people to serve in the foster care system and to reach children with special needs. It can be hard to understand the true needs of the homeless. And it’s costly to send missionaries to the lost halfway around the world. But these are all people for whom Jesus died. They are as precious to His heart as our own children and families are to ours.

Ask God to show you the people in your community who are being overlooked. Pick up a newspaper to see what’s going on, and let God point you to the people He wants you to serve. Ask Him to give you the unlovable, the unwanted, the unlikely, the hurting and oppressed. He knows where they are. And wherever they are, you’ll find Jesus there too.

Then go serve them. Get to know them. Love them unconditionally. Give to them. Show them “the full extent of Jesus’ love” by serving them Jesus-style. And watch what happens. Your world will be turned upside-down as you find yourself in a zone—in the flow of blessing poured out by God so you can lavish it on others.

With a willing heart, become a member of the Servolution. —Dino Rizzo

Dino Rizzo is pastor of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La., and the author of Servolution.