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Serving the
Unappreciative Anyway
Following Jesus in a healing ministry
By Chris Green
January 21, 2003
As he was going into a village, ten men
who had leprosy
met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud
voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" When he saw
them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And
as they went, they were cleansed. –Luke 17.12-14
We all know the climactic end to this scene—only one
returned to thank Jesus, but as verse 14 states, all that
went to the priest, which we assume is all ten, were
healed. In light of that, I wrote this journal entry on
January 8th.
[though only one gave thanks, Jesus still
healed all ten.
there is great danger is serving only the appreciative. Is
it really [service] when something’s returned each time?
Though the payment might not be in dollar amount, when one
demands a "thank you" in return for their services, then
this is hardly [service].
True service is done without compensation.
I think that is what Jesus meant by serving your enemies.
You don’t wait till your enemy becomes your friend, or
even accepts you [serving enemies] means that you give to
those that really do hate you, while they hate you,
without expecting anything in return.
And this is not an option for the Christian. It is a
requirement for anyone wanting to follow in the footsteps
of Jesus.
Those footsteps lead us to our enemies, or at least to
those that are socially neglected.
"love your enemy"—now that’s tough, but it’s not a choice.
I have been confronted with the reality of my pride and
how pervasive it is throughout my life. Pride is perhaps
the fundamental element hindering our relationship to the
Father, and to not take care of profusive pride is to prevent
true understanding of the Father’s nature. If we do not
correctly understand our own nature, then we cannot know
the Father’s. That is why pride is so detrimental: it
blinds us to the reality of our status before God.
As we "officially" embark in our ministry in Price Hill,
may we remember to serve those that will stand opposed to
us. To love them, and show them that the offer of
salvation and love is extended to them just like anyone
else. We cannot limit who we serve based on the smiles
that are returned. Until our hearts are joined with
Jesus’, what reason is there really to smile? "Let your
light shine before men", regardless if they are looking or
not or even want to see, may our light of love shine upon
all.
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