Advice For The New Christian

“What do you want Me to do for you?” [Luke 18:41 New King James Version]

The year was 1961, and the afternoon of January 21st.,  President John F. Kennedy stood at the podium giving his inaugural address. With millions tuning in and hundreds of thousands watching and listening to his every word he spoke these words which seem to have been forgotten. “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” In the course of time these words have slipped into the pages of history and are just that; mere words. The question today the majority of society asks is, “what can you do for me?”

You and I as Christians sometimes have a hard time with this question Jesus asked the blind man that day on the road to Jericho. Because of our gratefulness and thankfulness toward Him for dying for our sins we tend to reverse the question. What can I do for you Jesus? A very noble question but not actually what Jesus expects. I will testify for You. I will pray with people for You. I will go to church for You. I will be nice to others for You. I will work, work, work for You. Just tell me Jesus, what can I do for You? All in hopes that somehow Lord You will know how grateful I am for what You have done for me. I want to pay You back for my salvation. There, that is what we must careful of when wanting to serve Christ.

Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NKJV). I teach new believers that the most dangerous time for them is in the short term following their conversion. We have a tendency to set our goals to high in what we think the Lord expects from us. When we find out we cannot achieve “perfection”, no matter how hard we try, we give up. Jesus never expected payback from us. He came to die for us even though no human ever asked Him to. The doctrine of grace gets confused with the doctrine of service. Jesus wants to do something for you! He never asked, “What can you do for Me?”

You may be struggling in your walk with Christ today. You may feel as though you have failed Him terribly. You have done something, or not done something, that is not pleasing to Him. Guilt leads to disappointment, disappointment leads to frustration, and frustration leads to abandonment. Listen to Jesus; “What can I do for you?” Tell Him what you need Him to do.