Serving Christ with Enthusiasm

If you want your people to bleed, you have to hemorrhage. – Howard Hendricks

One roadblock to influencing others for Christ is a lack of joy and enthusiasm for those of us who follow him, especially in ministry. If I have been given new life, saved from death and eternity with God because of Jesus’ death on the cross, that should be a big deal. Shouldn’t I be excited about that? Shouldn’t I have unquenchable joy? Easy answer: yes. Does my life and ministry reflect that? Honest answer: Not enough, sometimes very little.

Now I don’t mean putting on a mask and pretending I don’t have problems and struggles. We all do. But if this life is temporary and eternity is…well…eternal, it seems like my joy in Christ and my enthusiasm to follow Him would override any troubles I face.

I think there are a few mistakes we make that rob us of our enthusiasm in following Christ.

1) We think there are better options. I think that following Jesus is the best thing I could do, but life would be better or easier if I didn’t. I think that I’m making some great sacrifice, and although there are sacrifices we make when following Christ, they pale in comparison to what we receive. Not only is following Jesus worth it, it’s the best option. The other options will leave me with so much less.

2) We get lost in the mundane. As I go through the day, I am guilty of just breaking it down into the tasks that must get done before I can watch TV that night. Whether its discipleship with a student or putting my kids to bed, I don’t realize the impact it can have. I just think this is something I need to do. It’s just part of my routine. These tasks that I think of as routine can have an eternal impact. I may actually say something Biblical or intelligent during a discipleship appointment or my kids may remember books we read or something we prayed for when I put them to bed. God works through the small things in life we take for granted.

3) Peter writes in his second letter of the New Testament that he hopes to stir up those he is writing to by way of reminder. Sometimes we just forget. We get frustrated, we get bored, or in the last point, we just get into the routine. I pray God would remind me that I should be excited about all I have been given because of His grace and mercy shown to me on the cross.

What would be different if I woke up each morning and thought, “How amazing is God’s love for me?” “I wonder what He has in store for me today.” I can just imagine the joy and enthusiasm that would overflow into the lives of those around me.