In Matthew 20:28, Jesus makes a commentary about Himself that is quite startling. He says, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” This statement is surprising because Jesus is God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Yet He condescended Himself to become a servant for our sake. Since Jesus is our model, His followers must also apply the principle of serving others. On the night He washed His disciple’s feet, He said to them, “I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” (John 13:15).
Despite this, many Christians often neglect to serve. Whether it is because we are weary, wary, or think we have nothing to offer, serving has become one of those disciplines we know we ought to do but don’t.
So Steve Robinson wrote Serve: Loving your Church with Your Heart, Time, and Gifts to help us in this area. With this book, Robinson encourages believers to serve in their church with faithfulness and joy. It is the fourth installment in the Love Your Church series by The GoodBook Company.
The book has six chapters explaining different facets of serving. These are: Who do we serve, Why do we serve, Good and faithful servant, Serve as the person God has made you to be, Serve with what God has given you, and Serve where God has placed you. Each chapter features a few action steps to practice what we have learned.
Serve is a nice little book that explores what the Bible says about serving, who we serve, why we serve, and how to use our gifts and weaknesses. The book initially piqued my interest because I love serving and have never seen a book exclusively on this topic.
Of the book’s interesting insights, one that struck me most was the motivation for serving. Robinson explains we must serve because of Jesus, not our love for good works or other people, but Jesus alone. If our motivation for serving is others or pleasure in the work, we will stop serving when we don’t love the people or the work becomes cumbersome.
Robinson writes, “As Christians, the ‘why’ of our serving can’t be any less (and needn’t be anymore) than Jesus—because, if it is, when circumstances of our lives or the conditions of our service change, we will walk away—either literally or emotionally. We need to remember that the ‘why’ behind our perseverance is something and someone that never changes.”
I also appreciated Robinson’s encouragement to serve and trust God’s grace despite our weaknesses. My main criticism of this book is the excessive use of personal stories and anecdotes to illustrate points—at least two or three per chapter. Most of these stories were unnecessary, and I was not interested in learning that much about the author’s personal life.
Furthermore, at 112 pages (20% of which are anecdotes), this book is quite elementary and does not provide a deep analysis of serving.
Overall, Serve is a useful book that explains how to serve well for the glory of God. I recommend it primarily to new believers or Christians with little knowledge about serving, as the material is a bit basic.
*The Good Book Company graciously gave me a copy for an honest review.*
