Religion Essay Example: How to Serve in Christian Faith

Serving may be done in different ways according to the purpose it is intended. However, from the teaching of Mathew, it enlightens the morals of serving from the beatitudes that blessed are those who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus came to the world to serve Christians in many ways, including healing the sick, forgiving sins and giving hope to the hopeless. Further, He focused on feeding the poor during his ministry on earth and expected Christians to care more about clothing and visiting them. Likewise, Jesus followed the core values of the kingdom of heaven. Developing projects like feeding the poor is important in setting examples of how Jesus requires of helping other people. That is why Jesus would approve the response to such development of humility among the Christians in serving the needy.

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Jesus work and ministry while on earth mainly focused on helping Christians and all humanity. Among them were the poor in spirit and the less fortunate, for example, the poor, sick and abandoned. Through the teachings of Jesus, Christians are taught that serving the needy is the pathway leading to heaven. Additionally, the sermon of Jesus in the beatitudes explains how Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the heaven and blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. It shows how those with the desire of service to help the needy shall receive and enjoy the blessing of the kingdom of heaven (Culpepper, 2015). Christians who selflessly practice this satisfy the wish of God. Therefore, it is evident to the ministry of Jesus how he fed multitude crowds with little food by faith. That is why he describes Himself as the bread of life, and anyone who comes to him shall never be hungry and thirsty anymore. Usually, in Christian faith, eating is a temporary satisfaction of the flesh. According to Jesus, the bread of life is different from the human living of flesh and focuses more on faith and spiritual realm.

Distributing food to the poor is an example of giving hope to those who are disheartened. As a result, the needy can be confident of restoration in the future hope under the feet of Jesus, with an explanation of the teaching and the work of Jesus during his ministry about what Christians should expect in the kingdom of heaven. Similarly, Jesus said he came so that those who are poor in spirit would have hope and abundant life. Christ dying on the cross at Calvary was a sign of renewing Christian faith and repentance to the nations away from sin. Therefore, when he multiply the fish and bread to feed thousands of people, it shows how faithful Christians should be whenever they are at the feet of Jesus (Culpepper, 2015). Further, it gives the direction by shaping people in the way to be righteous and to believe in God. Correspondingly, from the gospel of Mathew, Jesus refused to turn a stone into bread and overcame the temptation of the devil, which as a result gives humanity hope worth fighting for. With this in cognizance, it is important to emulate an example of giving hope to the people who are desperate to believe in Jesus teachings. Similarly, it is a lesson that can be learned from the miracles Jesus did. Everywhere he went, the sick were healed, the blind were able to see, and even the lame could walk. That is why it was part of the mission he came to do on earth. However, in Mathews text, many people came to be healed, but it was not only curing, but there is also the penalty of death if people do not repent. Therefore, as the dawn precedes the effects of Jesus can be seen as lighting up in what is happening in the present even if his coming is awaited in the future.

Jesus came to earth to sacrifice his life for people so that they might get salvation if they believe and repent. It is why he gave his life as a ransom for many to serve God just as the project organized by the JCC Church to serve the poor with food. Also, the teaching of Jesus in the gospel of Mathew, he says that I was hungry and you gave me food, when I was thirsty I was given drink and when I was a stranger was welcomed, when I was naked you gave me clothes. It is an expression that Jesus teaches Christians to offer service to their brothers; it is a symbol that they would do the same to him too (Culpepper, 2015). Also, it is because He needs people to love God with whatever they have through their heart, strength and soul; so that the poor in heart may be filled with his holiness to embrace the core value and appreciate the importance to love one another. The virtue of love that the Christians should show to their neighbors is that one they do it to themselves. Moreover, it is the distinction between the followers of Jesus who recognize the real work of God. Jesus further gives humanity the hope of doing well to its brothers and sisters, which would reward people with the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. That is why forgiving sins to get redemption was also another main reason for the coming of Jesus to show how much he cares and loves humanity. Therefore, Christians may be able to emulate the example Jesus gave, that loving neighbors is not enough, but also to be able to forgive enemies should not exclude anyone irrespective of their fault characters. However, it is not a small task in serving the poor because not all can humble themselves to forget the indulgences of flesh. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize the will of God and voluntarily resemble the actions of Jesus.

During the last Passover festival, Jesus demonstration to his disciples of serving them meant an important lesson to Christians. Jesus got up with the towel and poured water into a large bowl and began washing the feet of the disciples (Wright, 2015). It is significant to note that one of the teachings is that Christians should serve others since Jesus the Lord of all did it, and then they should follow willingly to help others. Moreover, it is evident that he is a servant beyond borders; He does dot choose a religion, any race or even the social status and promise the reward for emulating service to those who need it. Therefore, when Christians choose to help the needy, it is an example of serving God. Alternatively, it is important to understand that serving others irrespective of any background a person may be from does not matter before the Lord (Pitre, 2015). Further, another lesson is that Christians should humble themselves like Jesus did when he was serving the disciples as a lowly servant, for him to be their redeemer. Additionally, the leaders in the church should learn to be patient and persistent in the work of God so that they may receive holiness to guide the followers to the kingdom of heaven. That is why it is peoples responsibility to serve like Jesus and show the difference to those who do not know how to have a positive attitude in helping others. However, projects to help the poor have advantages and challenges in various perspectives.

Developing the plans of helping the poor assists in serving the work of God. There are several benefits and lessons that Christians can get out of serving. The first one it teaches Christians to follow Gods command of being righteous. Similarly, it brings people to the pathway that leads to heaven according to the teachings of Jesus on the inheritance of the lords kingdom (Marshall, 2015). The second one is the serving of people with the model of being each brothers keepers and willing to serve them unconditionally when they are in need. Similarly, just like the parable of the Good Samaritan in the teachings of Jesus, Christians should learn to love and forgive beyond their neighbors. The prejudgments should not exist in any part of decision people make, and they need to be humble, honest and sincere when serving others. It can be depicted from the service of Jesus during the last Passover.

Jesus managed to clean the feet of all who were present for the celebration. The third one is the lesson of sacrifice for others just like Jesus did to forgive peoples sins. Through the ministry of Jesus, he has taught on the need to feed others when they are hungry, to clothe them when they are naked, and give them drinks when they are thirsty. These are the examples to what Christians should sacrifice. The fourth one is that people should learn to give hope to those who are downhearted in life. It provides profusion in moral teaching in the context of corporate and personal effects. That is why Jesus would respond to the different situations in giving hope to the sick, lame and the hungry ones (Marshall, 2015). The final one is willingly serving the people as the key to the pathway to the kingdom of heaven. The coming of Jesus, therefore, affirms that the righteous who act according to the values of God shall see the kingdom. Additionally, the teaching of the beatitude attests that Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth and blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Despite the benefits of such projects also experience limitations.

By initiating projects such as providing and distributing food to the poor, there are several limitations associated with it. The first one is that most people are not willing to be part of the actual process of serving the poor and homeless. It may be a challenge since it requires a lot of workforces to organize on the procedures and the targeted individuals. Secondly, there is the lack of transparency and honesty that may arise during the planning of the budget. It may be characterized by misappropriations of resources when preparing the plan on how to service these homeless and the needy. Thirdly, there are insufficient resources available to meet the budget of the targeted individuals. When the resources are not enough to facilitate the program, it limits the operations of the project. Therefore, to achieve the mission, it is necessary to organize the mobilization of the resources properly. The final one is the perception of other people in the society. Some people may have a belief that such projects are done with bad intention irrespective of their nature. It applies in times when the church leaders have different motives in the church. That is; on the rising cases of dishonesty in the ministry of God in scandals of fake prophets who are out to con individuals of utmost good faith to help the mission of serving. It may be a set back to the initiation of such goodwill projects.

In conclusion, serving the homeless and the poor is an important example to fulfill the teaching and work of Jesus. His mission was to help the needy. Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom. He also taught Christians about taking care of the poor by providing them with food, clothes and even visiting them when they are sick, as well as giving hope to the people who are hopeless by healing the sick and making the lame walk. Moreover, willingly serving the homeless and the poor are the expectations of God to inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore, out of these lessons, people should be able to follow and choose to serve because it is the pathway to the kingdom of heaven

References

Culpepper, R. (2015). Fulfilment of Scripture and Jesus Teachings in Matthew. In Die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi, 49(2).

Marshall, C. D. (2015). Kingdom comes: The kingdom of God on the teaching of Jesus. Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Pitre, B. (2015). Jesus and the Last Supper. Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing.

Wright, N. T. (2015). The meal Jesus gave us. Geneva: Presbyterian Publishing Corp.