On Sara, service and sacrifice

by Dave Jackson

Volunteers would need to stay awake while Sara slept to calm her panic if she awoke. They would have to do every physical thing for her from feeding her to moving her foot to a more comfortable position. And all faced the possibility that she would die while in their care.

We could have sent Sara to a nursing home or encouraged her to move in with a relative. Under some circumstances, those might have been wise choices. The decision was hard. Might she accept Jesus if we cared for her? It was wrong to speculate. She had come to the church for help. Would we give it?

Sixteen women volunteered to spend nights with Sara in teams of two. It meant major sacrifices for all. Others joined a prayer team.

The task of ministering to Sara was huge . . . but brief. Many of us can rise to do such short-term, dramatic service. But what of the smaller things in life--those that drag on, are unappreciated or even take advantage of us? Many times we are like the person who said, "I'll lay down my life for you, but don't ask me to get your sweater." Jesus demonstrated love in both large and small acts of service. There were the dramatic healings, the thousands fed, but there were also the dusty feet He stooped to wash when He was just as tired as those He served.

Three principles may help us serve more lovingly:

1. The servant's heart has an attitude of abandonment. When our only agenda is serving God, we are less enticed by grandiose schemes that primarily build our egos, and we are not bored by the simple tasks.

2. Faithful stewardship of our time requires that we make decisions about where and how we serve--and we will have to say no to a good many requests. This we can do without guilt if our attitude is the servant's heart. Still, we should not be too concerned if we are taken advantage of; Jesus wasn't concerned about that.

3. Share the task. A shared burden is a load made lighter. More importantly, we can serve with more abandonment when we involve other members of the Body of Christ in evaluating the ministry. If it is not proper stewardship of our gifts, others can help us see that. If the task gets too hard, others can help.

And Sara? A couple weeks before her death, she was wheeled into our Sunday worship service, where she feebly spoke of her newfound faith in Jesus and was baptized.

Dave Jackson lives in Evanston, Ill. He and his wife Neta are the authors of many books, including the Trailbalzer series of historical fiction.

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