Effective life cannot be totally separated from a life of service to God and to man. When you examine the lives of people that the World celebrate today, you will discover that these were men and women that devoted their lives to service. When you take a look at the life of Jesus for instance, His entire life was dedicated to the service of God on earth. Jesus said in Hebrews 10:5-7, It says "I have come in the multitude of books written of me to do your will....not mine own will, but your will Oh Lord."

As a matter of fact, a great life is a life that is given to serving others. True greatness is embedded in the life of service. From Mother Theresa, to Dangote, to Bill Gate to Jeff Bezos and the likes of them, you will discover that their lives is given to service. The honest truth is this: You don't attract greatness by serving yourself. If your greatness is measured by the number of houses you built, the number of cars you drive or how many bank accounts you own; and not in the numbers of lives that you have positively touched through dedicated service, then you are not great. What you have is an illusion of greatness, which is not true greatness. Jesus once again gave us a classic example of how to be great. Matthew 20:25-28, it says:

²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.²⁷ And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

That Scripture also tells you that greatness is rooted in service. What God rewards is service. Our God is a REWARDER. Hebrews 6:10 says: "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister." There is no man that renders service to God or to mankind through His name that He would not reward. Another name for God is 'a rewarder'. He does not owe you or carry over your reward to another time, He gives it to you as He deem fit. Hebrews 11:6 says "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." You can substitute the word 'seek' there to 'serve'. He rewards those who serve Him, in full.

So, with what does God reward? Exodus 23:25-30 makes it plain the things that God rewards with, especially here on earth.

²⁵ “So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. ²⁶ No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.

²⁷ “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. ²⁸ And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. ²⁹ I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. ³⁰ Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. ³¹ And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. ³² You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. ³³ They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

If the Lord bless your bread and water, that means you will not lack bread, is that not the implication? Psalm 34:10 says "The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." Irrespective of the situation around you, or what the economic situation is saying, when you serve the Lord, He says He will bless your bread and water. Isaac was a good example of this testimony as well. There was a great famine in the land of Gerar and he wanted to relocate with his household. But God told him to remain in the land and sow. The bible says in that same year, he reaped an hundredfold (Genesis 26:12). That tells you that when you serve the Lord, with all your heart, you cannot be stranded.

Serving the Lord also means sickness will be far away from you. Even if they are distributing sicknesses, they shall not come near you. Psalm 91:7 says "A thousand may fall at your side And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you." Whatever it is that is falling them, will not come near you because you serve the Lord God. Has not God demonstrated this before? He has of course! When the angel of death visited Pharaoh and his people, the Bible says any door post it sees the blood of the lamb, it will pass over and spare the household. That tells you that it is possible for sicknesses and diseases to be far away from you because there is a mark of service upon your life.

When you serve the Lord, there will be no aborted destiny and neither shall you be barren. There is a Scripture to buttress these two points. Psalm 126: 6. It says: "He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him." You can replace the phrase "bearing seed for sowing" with the word service or serving. Sometimes the life of service isn't easy, sometimes it could be discouraging and uninteresting, but you must keep at it because there is a reward at the end of the day. God is the one who rewards and not man; so you don't give up. Commit yourself it whether it is convenient or not, there is a reward. See what The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:58. It says:

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

That Scripture says your labor, your service is not in vain in the Lord. There is definitely a reward, when we keep at it, and we don't quit. The Bible says the beginning is not the work, but those who endures till the end shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).

Serving the Lord also brings about longevity of days. verse 26 of that Exodus 23 says you will also live to fulfill the number of your days, which means, you will not die any untimely death. The story of Dorcas in the book of Acts 9:36-42 is a classic example. The Bible says Dorcas was full of great works and charitable deeds (verse 36). Even at death, her charitable deeds and life of service spoke for her. What about you? Can you service speak for you? Can people testify how your life, your ministry and your charitable deeds have rescued them at some certain points in their lives? This is a call to re-examine yourself and probably go back to the drawing table.

It pays to serve the Lord. The benefits of serving Him far outweighs not serving Him. There are benefits of service here on earth, and there are also unimaginable benefits awaiting as many that served him in His kingdom.

Source: [CentreNDL]