My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you?
-- James 2:14
The retail and hospitality segments of America’s economy lost millions of jobs in 2020 following the forced shutdown of businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But as people from coast to coast sheltered in place and worked remotely from home, demand soared for residential deliveries of products and services ranging from groceries to exercise equipment. The result is that companies like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS are constantly hiring more workers to process and deliver it all. And the public’s insatiable demand for these services only continues to grow as we approach the holidays.
The logistics industry doesn’t have a monopoly on service. The church, in
“In the same way, the Son of Man did not come to be served,” the Savior tells us. “He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people."
Jesus turns the notion of greatness on its head by emphasizing the server over the one he or she serves. What follows is that Christ-followers are to be Jesus’ hands and feet on earth while we wait for his return — or that day when he calls us back home (whichever comes first). Until then, we’re to help prepare God’s kingdom by making the most of the different gifts and talents he’s given us to serve others.
But when we serve, it’s not about us. It’s instead about our Creator and his creation. With this in mind, let’s turn our faith into action by accepting Jesus’ invitation to help brighten a dark, dying world that’s so much in need of light, truth and love.
“Make your light shine,” he says, “so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.”
That’s a prime level of service that Amazon will never deliver.
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