Celestial Diary

A lot of times when I’m told to share the gospel amongst my friends and network, I find myself struggling to find the right words. Because how do I convince people who are completely comfortable in life, some who don’t even know what struggle is or some who are doing just fine that they need a greater force (that they can’t see or touch) to make them happy and keep them safe from the evil spirits in the world. Sometimes I even get questions like ‘how am I sure that I’m not wasting my time serving a non-existent person?’

To some people we Christians are the ridiculous ones for praying to God to help us with the problems we face instead of putting actual effort. Some don’t even believe in evil spirits or demons so they don’t understand the forces we speak about.

This made me wonder why exactly I’m serving God. I need to be able to put it into words so I can communicate properly. I was born into a Christian family so for me praying to God, reading His word and worshipping Him was as natural as breathing. I never tried to question why I was doing it or question if maybe another religion was a better option because Christianity has always worked for me (if it isn’t broken, why fix it?).

Of course praying to God does wonders, but why does it work? Why am I serving Him? Why did I choose to follow the footsteps of my parents and love someone I don’t know, can’t see and can’t touch? Why am I spending time with someone who might be non-existent?

I’m speaking from the notion that God exists and that heaven, earth and the devil are real (the religion versus science debate is for another time).
From personal experiences it is incredibly difficult for me to believe He doesn’t exist and even if He didn’t exist, I’d rather take my chances in still serving Him than doubting His existence only to meet hell at the end.

The bible tells us why we should serve Him and how we can go about it (John 14:15; “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments) BUT why should I WANT to believe in Him and serve Him?

To be honest, everyone has a different reason as to why they want to believe in God;

• Some need to believe that the world isn’t completely forsaken and that there’s still hope for humanity
• Some are in desperate need for a miracle in their lives (getting healed, passing an exam etc.)
• Some really don’t know what else to believe in and go along with the flow (family traditions)
• Some have tried multiple religions and found out that Christianity works better for them
• Some genuinely love God and believe in everything He stands for

I believe the greatest reason why I should want to serve God is because I love Him and I believe in His works and promises (1 John 4:19; We love him, because He first loved us). He doesn’t need us but somehow He wants us and He chose to love us unconditionally.

The basis of Christianity is love and faith, without these two is it difficult to have a lasting relationship with God. There is no real logic to loving someone or believing in them and this same reasoning can be used in our daily lives. Why do I choose to spend the rest of my life with person A and not person B even though person B may break my heart in the future?
Sometimes we love people for no reason so why do we find it so difficult to just love God for loving sake?

God loves us and He is constantly trying to show us how much He loves us (Romans 5:8; God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us).
Love is reciprocal and so we also should show God some love instead of using Him as a means to our own selfish goals.
We make vows and promises to our fellow humans ‘in sickness and in health, till death do us part’ and stick (usually) to it but when it comes to God who is a supernatural being, we leave Him at the slightest inconvenience and turn the other way forgetting that we are also His bride and neglecting our vows (Ephesians 5:22-23; Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body).

In any good and healthy relationship both parties communicate with each other regularly and do things for each other.
Usually we behave like this when we’re in love:

• I want to make you happy because I love you (John 14:15; “If you love Me, keep My commandments. Romans 5:8; But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us).
• I want to hear your voice because I love you (Isaiah 28:23; Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech. Isaiah 64:24; “It shall come to pass. That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear).
• Thinking of you makes me genuinely happy and I want everyone to know what a great partner you are (Psalm 89:1; I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. Matthew 10:32; Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven).

This is what it means to love and serve God. It is something that should come naturally to us once we love Him with everything we have. From the bible verses above we can also see that love is reciprocal; we love God and serve Him just as He does.

This is how I see my relationship with God. For me it isn’t just about what He can do for me or the places He can take me to. It’s a relationship I cherish and I find meaningful.
To me He is someone I can talk to when I’m struggling (and He won’t gossip about me to another), someone who will keep me on the right path (through the guidance of the Holy Spirit), someone who will love me unconditionally (the love and mercy of God) no matter the mistakes I make in life.
I don’t think we can ever find an earthly relationship as genuine as the one we can have with God.

Why do I want to serve God? Because He is love incarnate, He is proof that there is still hope in life no matter how bleak it may seem. He is the reason I’m still alive today, He is the reason I have something to smile about.

Apart from the peace and hope we get to experience here on earth, He has promised us eternal life after this world passes away. A kingdom without strife, sorrow and death (John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life).

Like I mentioned in the beginning, there are many reasons why people choose to believe in God and for some this reasons are enough to keep them steadfast in Christ. For others staying in love with Christ is more challenging due to the things they may be facing in life.
At the end of the day, it’s a personal choice and He’s given us complete freedom to do whatever we want (Joshua 24:15; And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord).

Whatever brought us to Christ is just the beginning because at the end of the day if there is no love, a real relationship cannot be formed.
God never promised that life would be smooth once we decide to follow Him (love is a rollercoaster) and so we will have to put in effort for our relationship with Him to last. The work we put into this relationship is what is called ‘serving Him’.

The term ‘serving’ won’t be a burden or sound bothersome when there is genuine love and understanding.

So the answer to the question ‘Why should I serve God?’ in my opinion is: We should serve Him because we love Him. Love and serving go hand in hand (service is the fruit of love) and if we catch ourselves complaining about the services we are rendering unto Him, we need to take a step back and remind ourselves why we chose to love Him in the first place.
Don’t forget, God does a whole lot for us too so He isn’t just receiving without giving back.

But for those who still aren’t convinced, my advice is to genuinely get to know more about God before forming an opinion about Him (be serious about it). We take our time to know more about someone before forming any type of relationship with them. You can’t make a good decision based on ignorance so find out more about Him, look around and see the works of His hands, ask people around you who are already in Christ.
I’m very sure that after doing all of this, loving and serving Him will naturally follow.

Stay Blessed x