God Speaks: Acts of Service

God expressed His love for humankind by sending His Son, Jesus, who in turn expressed His love by the supreme act of service: giving His life for people’s sins. When Agnes Bojaxhiu responded to that love as a young teenage girl, she began a life course of faithfulness and distinction. Her transformation into Mother Teresa seems incredible to many people, yet the God she worshiped is more than capable of such a change. The Bible declares Him to be “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He fluently speaks the love language acts of service.

Jesus' Life as Service
Clearly, the God of Israel expressed His love by acts of service to those who called upon Him. And while many people accept this fact about God, a significant number are reluctant to believe the same about Jesus. Yet when we examine the life of Jesus of Nazareth, we find Him identifying with the God of Israel. The claims are so clear and so woven into Jesus’ concept of Himself that many have found them incredible and have concluded that Jesus was a man with delusions of grandeur, one not to be seriously considered as a creditable religious leader.

Jesus' Miracles as Service
The miracles that Jesus performed were never capricious. They were always expressions of His love for people. Healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, calming the storm, casting out demons—those were not only supernatural feats that identified Him with God, but also expressions of His love. On three occasions He even brought a dead person back to life. Such acts of service were reflected in His statement, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.”

Jesus' Death as Service
Jesus framed His own death as an act of service when he said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” His love was further evidenced when He said from the cross as He was dying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
For all who examine the life of Jesus, He becomes a fork in the road of life. Many choose the path of submission—they bow the knee, submit the heart, and arise to walk humbly as His servants.

Many testify that what ultimately won their hearts was His love expressed by miraculous acts of service, from the humility of His human birth to His sacrificial, voluntary death that paid the penalty for their sins. And serving a God who speaks through acts of service is ample motivation for them to serve one another as well.


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Excerpt taken from God Speaks Your Love Language by Dr. Gary Chapman. To find out more about his resources, visit www.fivelovelanguages.com.