Downward Mobility
The following story and commentary come from an article on preachingtoday.com:
In November 2010, a wedding party in Glenelg, Australia, was unexpectedly called into action right after the wedding ceremony. While they were posing for pictures on a scenic ledge, a woman unrelated to the wedding fell into the water and started drowning. Dressed in his tuxedo, the best man jumped in and brought the woman back toward shore. Then the bride, a trained nurse, waded into the water and started administering CPR. By the time the Surf Life Saving volunteers had arrived, the woman had regained consciousness. But according to one safety official, "[The victim] was very lucky that the bridal party was there and they acted quickly and got her to the shallows." After the daring rescue operation, the drenched but heroic best man and the bride happily rejoined the wedding reception and continued with the festivities.
In some ways, this unusual event serves as a great image for the calling of every local church: we're dressed up for a party (celebrating worship), but at the same time we're also prepared to dive into mission, even when it's inconvenient and dangerous. Worship and mission, loving God and loving others, praising and serving—these combinations aren't opposites; they form the dual nature of our calling as the church.
This Sunday we’re going to be looking at a passage from Mark 9 that encourages us to do the same things—let our agendas go, be watchful for opportunities to serve others, take risks for others.
Scripture is saturated with the call to service. Second only to faith in Christ, I’d say it’s a primary identifying characteristic of the follower of Christ. (And it might be said that the two are just two sides of the same coin; you can’t really talk about one without the other.)
My challenge to you is this: Who is someone you can serve today? How can you serve someone today like Christ would serve them?