Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. 1 Samuel 3:1
Have you ever thought about or considered the ‘need’ that God might have? Not that He is insufficient in anyway but need …in the way of desire? God created us to be in fellowship and in love with Him. God is love. Love being the pinnacle of His purposes. I was hit so hard with this when I spent some time with my first granddaughter who is 9 months old now. Her smile, her giggles and laughter, her joyful play .. were such a revelation to this old heart. I constantly was thinking about how this must be what Father God feels like. I love that little girl fiercely. Everything I did was to make her feel loved in every moment. After a few days we were exchanging ‘looks’ and both of our smiles could not hide the love and joy we had for one another. Oh how our Father must look at us! When I think about eternity .. we still must seem like a ‘baby’ to Him.
I was reminded about the ‘hidden ministry’ in a book by Chip Brogden called The Prophetic Mandate. I see it as the ‘forgotten ministry’. So much of the ‘ministry’ today is about receiving from God. Working to receive what God wants for us. Striving to be worthy. Working up our faith to be found good enough to receive His blessings. Oh how all of those miss the first ministry we are called to .. which is ministry to Him. Sure He ministers to us as any loving parent will do… and always what is absolutely best for us …especially when we know so little of what really need. We get stubborn and throw our tantrums of pure emotion.. yet He is there still loving us. Oh how I just LOVED when my granddaughter climbed into my lap and just put her little head on my shoulder. Such pure love. I am completely smitten with that little girl. And it then hit me .. so is my heavenly Father with me!!? I immediately thought about my love for Him. I wanted to be like my granddaughter and show my love for Him … purely from my heart.
I think of all those times in scripture of those who ‘ministered’ purely and honestly to the Lord. Samuel, David, and Anna in the New Testament just to name a few. To just spend time in ministry to the Lord, praying, singing, and writing our love for Him. Putting Him as our central focus of being. Always making Jesus central in our lives.. because of our love for Him. Always deferring to the instructions and wisdom of the Holy Spirit as He guides us and reveals more of Jesus to us, in deeper and deeper ways.
Now when I think of my granddaughter I can’t help think about my Heavenly Father and … love. Do you minister to the Father? Do you sing to Jesus? Do you write love poetry to Him (like David did in Psalms)? Do you set aside time to just climb into His lap and love on Him? This kind of love is so POWERFUL!
My granddaughter doesn’t have to strive to be loved by me. My granddaughter will NEVER be ‘unworthy’ in my heart and eyes, and I will always welcome her with my open arms of love. I will always work to give her and her parents what she needs more than what she wants in the moment… because I love her so much. I think about the kind of beautiful woman she will become one day — hopefully with a family and children of her own. God made the family as the original ‘community’ of love. God LOVES family. I can’t help but think how the best theology is revealed in family. The revelation that grandchildren bring is astounding!
Spend some time today just ministering to the One who loves you more than anyone else. Don’t forget about the love He has for you! Tell Him about your love for Him.