A Kick and a Hug
“…For the word of God is living and active,
sharper than any double-edged sword…”
Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)
Recently I was asked to write an article for one of the ministries where I regularly serve. I quickly agreed, but then procrastinated, missed the original submission deadline, and eventually felt pressured to get the task off my ever-growing summer “to-do” list. Hurriedly, I pieced a 500-word article together, justifying my sloppily prepared work with a resentful “Don’t they know how many other things I’m juggling as a volunteer???”
A few days later I received a very polite email asking me to “tweak” the article because it fell short of what the editor had requested. Now instead of being just resentful, my pride was wounded, and I was just flat out angry. Again, I justified my actions and “churned and burned” over being “abused” as a volunteer.
But God wasn’t having any part of the toxic mess gripping my heart and controlling my mind and emotions. The next morning when I opened my Bible for my morning devotion, my daily Scripture reading was Psalm 100. With its opening line of “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord,” Psalm 100 is easily one of the most recognizable Psalms in the Psalter. I was 9 years old and in the fourth grade when I first committed those words to my memory. Psalm 100 is a short Psalm comprised of only five verses, but it contains seven imperatives plus two explanations of why we should give thanks.
I began reading the familiar words: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” I smiled as I remembered our Worship Pastor’s summary of those words: No soft singing!
The Psalmist follows his joyful singing instruction with a command to serve the Lord with gladness. Suddenly no matter how hard I tried to continue reading the rest of the short Psalm, I couldn’t get past those five words: “Serve the Lord with gladness.”
The anonymous author of Hebrews once described God’s Word as living, active, and sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). A double-edged sword cuts both as it goes in and as it is pulled out. Nashville Bible teacher Paige Brown paraphrases Hebrews 4:12 by quipping, “God’s Word is always a kick and a hug.”
That’s exactly what I experienced that morning as God’s Word and the Holy Spirit both did their work cutting through the toxic mess in my hard heart. I heard no audible voice, of course, but I sensed God saying, “Donna, are you serving me with gladness?”
Of course, God knew I wasn’t serving him at all. I was indulging my sinful heart and wounded pride. There was nothing else to do but confess my sin, ask for God’s forgiveness, and gladly rewrite the requested article.
John the Baptist in preparing people for the coming Messiah challenged his listeners to "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Luke 3:8). Author Terry Johnson writing in his excellent book The Parables of Jesus recommends using the following questions to evaluate our personal fruit of repentance:
Is God getting a return on His investment in me?
Have I turned from the pursuit of sin?
Have I cultivated a loathing of evil and a hunger & thirst for righteousness?
Have I developed a hunger for the Word of God, the people of God, and the worship of God?
Am I pursuing holiness?
Do I have a zeal for good works?
Am I characterized by love in my dealings with my neighbors?
For what or Whom am I living?
Over the past few weeks “serve the Lord with gladness” has been my sacred echo and constant prayer as I prepared for an upcoming Bible study; baked dozens of cookies for a local ministry event; counseled a special needs parent on residential placement for his adult son; and spoke on God’s sovereignty in our suffering.
A number of modern translations use the word worship instead of serve, but the original Hebrew word included the ideas of service, work, and worship. Worship is first commandment obedience. It is the “thank you” that can’t be silenced! We worship God rightly when we serve him cheerfully and gladly, not begrudgingly, angrily, or under compulsion. When done well, serving God with gladness accomplishes a God-given task; brings good to others; builds community; brings joy to us, and gives glory to God.
Lord, please help me to always serve you with gladness!