Letter to the Congregations: 7th June 2025

Our Dear Brethren,

Are we ready to serve?

One of my favorite passages in the Bible describes the fact that we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to be a “living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). The act of giving up our time, energy, and even our own will is what helps us begin to become living sacrifices. In this way we begin to reflect the service of our Savior who gave of His time, energy, and even His own will (although His will aligns perfectly with His Father’s). Jesus Christ is the ultimate living sacrifice! He even gave up His life so we can have the hope of eternal life!

Being a living sacrifice like Christ means being ready to serve rather than to be served. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28).

Many times in this world we find ourselves surrounded by those who are seeking prestige and power, seeking to be in positions where they can have servants or be served by others. There are even those who, because of their situation in life, find it far easier to seek to be taken care of because they often need the assistance and sometimes don’t understand that they are helped because others are willing to serve them. No matter our upbringing or our present situation, are we ready to serve? Have we yet learned what it means to truly serve?

When I say “serve” I don’t just mean serving in ways that make us feel good or look good. I don’t just mean serving in services on the Sabbath or just serving people we like or love. Just as Jesus Christ came to be a servant to all, we are also to learn this same way of life. Are we ready to do that?

There will be people who are called by God to become part of His Church who will be more broken and more entrenched in the world than many of us think we were before we received our calling. Are we ready to serve them regardless of the brokenness we find when we first meet them? There will be people we come across who think they are more righteous than we are (and that may be true) but we have to be ready to serve them as well. There will be people who are in positions of authority above us in God’s Church who we might disagree with. Are we ready to serve them and help them succeed in their service as well? There will be people who are rich and others who are poor. There will be people who will be easy to love and those who might not be so easy to love. Are we ready to serve them all equally as we see their needs arise?

Are we prepared to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s]” (see Romans 12:2) through the power of God’s Holy Spirit within us so we might truly become the servant people who Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call His brethren?

Our love is with you,

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe