Spirit serving

“But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” - Romans 7v6

How well do you serve when you “have to”? What kind of attitude do you have when you are made to do something “or else”? I, for one, HATE it when I am made to do something. I get grumpy and sullen and do it with a sorry attitude. I am NOT a pleasure to be around when that happens.

Have you ever met a Christian who served the Lord that way? They go to church, go “soul-winning,” tithe, and do all the church stuff because they have to do it, or else. That is much how the Jews lived under the Law. They were bound by the letter and had to toe the line. One of my sons uses a word for this kind of lifestyle – strictarianism. I fear sometimes that the strictarians have moved us far from the kind of worship and service Paul envisioned as he penned these Spirit inspired words.

Far too often on my own Christian life I have served out of the “oldness of the letter” instead of the “newness of the Spirit.” When I live and serve that way Christianity is a misery. I always fear whether or not I am matching up to some standard or requirement. When I serve in the newness of the Spirit I do so with an excitement, a fire, and an intensity that makes service fun and invigorating. When we are serving in the newness of the Spirit we search the word of God with a passion to find out what more we can do for Him.

What kind of serving do you think is going to shake the world, letter serving or Spirit serving?