Saved to Serve
[Jesus said:] The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
Matthew 10:24
Jesus invites each of His followers to become His disciple. “Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). We are saved to serve; we are redeemed to reproduce spiritually; we are “fished out of the miry clay” so that we in turn may become fishers of men.
During our crusades thousands of young people have surrendered their lives to Christ for full-time vocational Christian service. (All Christians ought to consider themselves in the service of God full-time, no matter what their calling.) There is evidence that the new generation of young people is responding to Christ more than any previous generation in American history.
Young people seek adventure and excitement; but youth wants more—it wants something to believe in; it wants a cause to give itself to and a flag to follow. The only cause that is big enough is the cause of Jesus Christ; and its flag is the bloodstained body that was lifted on the cross of Calvary for the redemption of the world.
This invitation to discipleship is the most thrilling ever to come to mankind. Just imagine being a working partner with God in the redemption of the world! Jesus challenged, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor” (John 12:26).
Christian discipleship gives us the privilege of being associated with Christ intimately. And the faithful discharging of the glorious responsibilities of true discipleship invokes the approval and favor of God Himself.
Our Father and our God, make me a fisher of men. I want to bring other souls to You. Give me the courage, the words, and the right attitude to approach those who need to know Christ so badly. I know He is their only hope. Use me and the talents You have blessed me with to reach the lost with Christ. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).