What you can do for God.
Do you ever wonder if God has needs? An interesting question isn’t it?
Think of how Jesus felt when everyone left Him the night He was arrested; the disciples all ran away.
Have you ever asked God: what would you like me to do for you today?
I feel like many people and I include me in this, use God for our benefit and our wants, we ask for things and blessings, but a relationship should always be two way, there needs to be a balance of give and take to be healthy.
What would God like us to do for Him?
If we ever asked God that question, we would have to obey what He answers us. He might ask us to do some hard things: put Him first in every circumstance, sell everything, move away, quit our job, give up our addictions, stop that habit, quit trying to change people, love others and offer forgiveness. It could get very uncomfortable and very real, very quickly.
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." John 12:1-8
Mary of Bethany did something for Jesus, she went against all customs and culture and she anointed Jesus for His burial and Jesus honored her for it.
Luke 7:36-38 An unnamed woman did it.
“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.”
Mary the mother of Jesus did it. God sent an angel to tell this young gal that she was going to be the mother of the Blessed Messiah and her words were:
“And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38
Jesus had a need in Samaria, He asked the woman at the Samaritan well for something.
“Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)” John 4:6-9
God today, still has things He would like us to do for Him.
“Feed my sheep.” John 21:17
God has some interesting sheep. Not all sheep are cuddly, fun and fluffy lambs, they can grow up to be messy, stinky, ill-mannered and sometimes hard to like. But what does God say?
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12
Loving cute, cuddly sheep is easy. Loving difficult ones, not so much.
“He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15
But, we say, these are not actually things we can do for Jesus, if Jesus was here, like in person, I would anoint His feet, I would offer Him a drink, I would tell Him that I love Him, but these scriptures are about working with other people.
And.. “The King (Jesus) will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40