Welcome back to “Friday Feature!” Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy today’s devotion! If you missed last week’s devotion, you can read it here!
Summer Willingham brings us today’s devotion titled, “Called to Serve.” Summer, 21, is a full-time college student at Liberty University, majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language. She accepted the call to be a Missionary and has shared the Gospel to places like Panama, Costa Rica, Aruba, Honduras & Washington D.C. She is very creative and makes beautiful jewelry pieces as well as other handmade items to fund her mission trips. Last but not least, Summer is my sister, and I’m so proud to see the way God is using this beautiful, young woman! Give her IG page a follow! @worthmore315
Called to Serve
When God called me to be a missionary my view of a missionary was somewhat limited. What is a missionary? Most of us would say that a missionary is someone who goes across the sea to take the gospel to the lost and yes that is a big part of it. However, there is so much more to it than that.
In the short time that I have been involved in mission work, I have learned that every Christian is called to be a missionary. “How do I know this,” you might ask? In scripture, Jesus gave instructions to His disciples to spread the gospel to all nations and make disciples of all nations. This is often referred to as the great commission and is found in Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15. Jesus wasn’t just speaking to a certain group of disciples when He gave this commandment. No, Jesus was speaking to each of them and as followers of Christ, we are His disciples. We are called to spread the gospel and make disciples. We are called to fulfill this great commission. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that every Christian has to go on a mission trip. Quite the contrary, we can spread His word wherever we are. Some, God calls to serve abroad and others He calls to serve at home. It is up to us to follow His leading and His will for our lives, wherever it may lead.
Something else I have learned is that we are are not just called to share the gospel but we are called to serve, just as Jesus did while He was here on earth. How can we serve and how can we make a difference? The Bible gives us many examples of how we can serve those around us: feeding the hungry, giving clothes to the poor, caring for the widows and the orphans, and most importantly to love others as we love ourselves.
Matthew 25: 35-36, 40 / Galatians 5:14 / James 1:27
I never realized how much of a difference we make in the lives of others until I went to Honduras last year. During my stay, our group visited a local boys orphanage. While we were there we sang songs, shared God’s love, and played games. I and a few friends of mine were outside tossing a beach ball with one of the young boys. As the day went on I could see the countenance on his face change, just because we had taken time out of our day to spend with him, showing him how much we cared. Later that day he came up to me and hugged me just before we left, and let me know how much our time meant to him. We were able to pour out our love not just on him but on many children during that trip. Seeing the joy on each of their faces was worth more than any amount of money could ever buy.
No matter where you are, you can make a difference! You can be the hands and feet of Christ right where you are! This is our commission! This is our calling!
