Based on 1 Corinthians 16 (New King James Version)
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me. Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia). And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits. But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. And if Timothy comes, see that he may be with you without fear; for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his journey in peace, that he may come to me; for I am waiting for him with the brethren. Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brethren, but he was quite unwilling to come at this time; however, he will come when he has a convenient time. Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love. I urge you, brethren—you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints—that you also submit to such, and to everyone who works and labors with us. I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for what was lacking on your part they supplied. For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men. The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. All the brethren greet you. The salutation with my own hand—Paul’s. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.”
What can we see here explicitly in this passage? Paul, through the Spirit, exhorts to serve the Lord some in one way, and others in a different way, but the principal subject is about serving the Lord. He is talking about his own service, and about what he is planning on doing. He speaks about the services others are rendering to the Lord. And he is also instructing the readers to also do their part, and to help however they can. He is talking about secular work also, and how it should be used to help because they all needed to make a living. And even he himself needed to work most of the time. There was a lot of activity going on, and he was encouraging to do more. And wasn’t easy work either because he spoke about a great and effective door that has opened for him, but there are many adversaries. It is no surprise that much of the known world had already heard of the gospel in one way or another in a matter of decades after the death and resurrection of the Lord by seeing such activity in just a few verses. It is estimated that Paul on his own traveled more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km) on foot during his missionary journeys, and of course, not for vacation or for own personal delight. In summary, why all this activity and service?
There are some things that can come into the conversation as reasons for why all of these people did what they did, and these could be either because it’s a requirement as part of salvation, or because the Holy Spirit urged them to do it, or because there was great gratitude. Many may either agree with some of these points or may not. And of course, there may be some people that over-spiritualize some of the reasons. We will say that the Word gives these motives and also others as reasons for why there should be such service and care in the Lord and for the Lord. I can say that at the very least, those that were mentioned can be clearly affirmed through the Scriptures.
One of the principal reasons that I would say, guided by the Spirit, is that there should be at least a great gratitude for what the Lord has done, if there is some capacity for reasoning. We see this as an example with regards to Lazarus’ sisters, as it is written: “Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Jesus said, ‘Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.’” John 12:1-7. We see both Martha and Mary serving the Lord out of gratitude, and Mary serving to the point that she even prepared the Lord for what was coming.
Some might say, “How can they not serve the Lord and be grateful if He raised their brother from the dead?” And yes, it is clear this was a great physical miracle. But then, what about what the Lord did for us on the cross? Is access to eternal life less important than raising someone from the dead physically? It’s true that Lazarus was resurrected physically, but he died again (because he is not with us today), so what is that to you? It is a unique work, but I submit to you that the eternal life that God gives through Jesus Christ is superior to Lazarus’ resurrection, even from a very selfish point of view (per se), because I will live eternally and forever thanks to what Christ did for me, and not because of a physical miracle that happened so long ago. And also, the Lord did what He did without any kind of obligation. According to the Word, we are not born children of God, but actually, quite the contrary. Without Christ, we were God’s enemies, dead in our sins, and far away from God’s kingdom. This is what the Word says: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:8-10.
So then, this takes us to a point that does not require neither much discernment, nor spiritual growth, and not even a lot of Biblical knowledge. At the very least what should cause a desire to follow the Lord and look to love and serve Him is the fact that He gave His life for us. He gave us a completely unmerited salvation, by grace, rescuing us from our sins, and giving us eternal life. And if a person does not know how to love the Lord because of these things, then what the apostle said is very well applied: If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. If a person does not know how to appreciate, nor see His love as a reason to learn to love and serve Him, then how can God excuse such rejection? It is not fair to return evil for good to God, especially after knowing what He did. And through Christ, we need to start practicing justice, by starting to value God’s love. So then, are you willing to serve the Lord because of everything He has done for you? Lord bless! John