I’d Rather Be a Door Holder

Thomas Barr walks us through Psalm 84 to examine the why behind serving and later identifies what Jesus taught on the subject that has since changed our lives and history.

Why does the church serve? Why do we meet needs, care for the sick, help the persecuted, volunteer to improve the community, and give our own resources?

Because serving is a response, and it’s better.

What is serving in response to?

Psalm 84:10-11 opens our eyes to the realization that it is better to be a servant in a church than have status anywhere else. It’s the best thing we’ll ever do and pales in comparison to everything else. Like the sun, God is our warmth, light, and hope. He is also our shield and protector. He bestows favor and honor. He is in authority, so He can give us what our heart most desires: love and significance. We serve because we’ve been served, we love because we’ve been loved. Children don’t serve to get provision, protection, and love; they serve in response to already having those things from their parents.

Jesus Himself is a servant and thinks highly of those who serve. In Luke 22:27, Jesus asks who is greater, the servant or the one being served? He recognizes that the world holds the one being served as the greater one, but Jesus turns that idea upside down. He, who is greatest of all, chose to be the servant. In John 13:4-5, He displayed this by washing His disciples' feet. Jesus defined it clearly when He said the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many in Mark 10:4-5. The point is that Jesus came to serve you. He gave His life for you. Therefore, we hold the door for others because God held open the door of Heaven even when it cost Him Hell for us.

Serving isn’t an attempt to get God to love you, forgive you, accept you, or to give you what you want. Nor is it an attempt to get others to do these things. We already have these things, so serving is a response.

Secondly, serving is better. The psalmist says that 24 hours in God’s courts is better than 24,000 elsewhere because it’s in the courts of the Lord that he feels the goodness, grace, and glory of Him. It’s not enough for him to experience it; he wants others to enjoy it as well. He says he would rather, which means to examine or choose, to be a doorkeeper in the house of his God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. A doorkeeper was a lowly position, but it is an active humility focused on others. A dweller takes a passive stance and tents represent luxury; this person is very focused on self.

Mark 10:42-43 tells us how the world works: use power and position to lord over others. However, Jesus said it shouldn’t be that way with those who follow Him. Serving is better. It’s the road to greatness and happiness. Acts 20:35 reminds us that Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Because serving is a response and serving is better, it has changed history. The majority of Christians have practiced this throughout history. Stephen cared for widows. Priscilla and Aquila opened their home for the early church. Dionysius took care of the sick during plagues.

• Basil and his sister, Macrina, created one of the first hospitals.
• John of the fourth century created dwellings for the homeless.
• Women in medieval times came alongside other women suffering from postpartum depression.
• William Carey educated children in India. William Wilberforce fought against slavery in the British Empire.
• Lot Carey took the Gospel to Liberia and educated children there.
• Betsy Stockton held the door open for children in Hawaii.
• George Müller took in 10,000 orphans in England.
• Frederick Douglass led people to freedom and mentored young men.
• Pandita Ramabai opened schools for widows and girls in India.
• Corrie Ten Boom helped Jews in he home as they fled Germany and taught them the power of forgiveness through Jesus.
• Eric Liddell left the Olympics to serve in China and gave his life there.
• Gladys Aylward gave refuge to children during the war.
• Jim Elliot brought the gospel to an unreached people who ended up killing him. He said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” His wife, Elisabeth, continued teaching the Bible to those who took his life, and many came to know Jesus.

Today, Christians are still doing what we’ve always done. Why? Because it’s better. It’s a response.

What’s your role? Will you let Jesus serve you today?