Read: Luke 14:1-24

By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

A non-serving Christian is a contradiction of terms. – Rick Warren

There is a running tab in the back office at Columbus First Church of the Nazarene. There is a debt that continues to be repaid. But, unfortunately, when it is repaid, that debt finds itself on the shoulders of he who has been repaid. This debt finds itself on me, then on Pastor Travis, and also on Pastor Brent. It bounces around the back office and there is no sign of stopping. One of us continually finds ourselves in debt to the other.

This is no debt of money. Rather, it is a debt of something more important than money.

Zwanzig’s pizza.

Whenever one of us helps out another or when one of us is feeling particularly generous, the method of payment is not money, but is instead Zwanzig’s pizza. If you haven’t eaten there, I highly recommend it. It is definitely one of the best pizza places nearby.

Whenever a pastor in the back office buys another Zwanzig’s it is expected that, sometime in the near future, repayment is on the way. (Which reminds me, Travis, it’s been a while. Times ticking).

Too many times this is how we see service. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. If I do something for you, you do something for me. A lot of times we don’t see service as useful unless it benefits us in some way.

But the fact of the matter is that this is not the kind of service that Christ calls us to. Look at Luke 14:12-14:

“Then Jesus said to his host, ‘When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’”

When you serve, serve in such a way that it cannot be repaid. When you serve, look for opportunities to help the helpless. When you serve, seek the humble track, the quiet road, the anonymous helping hand.

When you serve, look for the outsiders, look for the ones who are unable to serve others because of their situation. When you serve don’t tell anyone what you did. Leave it between you and God.

If we serve in such a way as this, Christ tells us there will be a reward at the resurrection of the righteous. What a reward!

But Zwanzig’s is a close second…