Ebola and Service – III

One of the challenging elements of the Ebola crisis has been the sacrificial service of caregivers – it is challenging in that it prompts the question, “Would I go and serve in Ebola affected areas if asked to do so? Would I go if I had medical qualifications to serve?”

One American caregiver was asked prior to leaving for Africa why she was putting her life at risk; in fact her family was opposed to her going. Her reply was that she had been raised to serve others and she had been medically trained to serve others – how could she not go? To not go would be to betray her life.

Whether it is the Ebola outbreak in Africa or health care workers in Asia administering polio vaccine at great risk to their lives from terrorists, the sacrificial nature of these men and women should challenge all of us – especially those of us who profess to be followers of Jesus – what we consider “risk” and what these brave women and men consider “risk” are often worlds apart. We think it risky to get to know our neighbors; we consider it a risk to extend ourselves to those less fortunate who live within a thirty-minute drive of our homes; we think it risky to share the Good News of Jesus with a coworker. Sad to say, but we often think it risky when we try to get to know someone within our own church.

The early Christians were known for serving those with plague and disease when they were abandoned by others…at great risk to their own lives. But isn’t that at the heart of the Gospel, isn’t that at the heart of a life lived in Christ? There is no greater love than that a man lay down his life for his friend…or for his enemy. After all, when we were enemies of God Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-11).

If we will follow Jesus then we must know that we are called to serve others holistically – spirit, soul, heart, mind, and body. To eliminate the body from this equation is to make ourselves more spiritual than God for it is to spiritualize away the many Biblical commands to serve others with healing, with deliverance from demons, and with food and shelter. If we will follow Jesus then we must acknowledge that we are called to lay our lives down and that not to do so is to betray the life of Christ within us.