Where Service Sprouts
By Mary Smith
Why do we serve? Many times it is out of a sense
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of duty or need for self betterment. A self-righteous
or artificial act. But when our service doesn’t have
firm roots in something stronger than what we
ourselves can make it into, it cannot grow. In the
Bible says that even “if I give all I possess to the poor
and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.” We will never
get past menial service if we do things just so we can
boast or feel better about ourselves, which I think we
often do more than we realize. But honestly, service
doesn’t come from the things that we do, it comes
from the seeds in our hearts.
After Merapi erupted three years ago, the desolation
and the need that followed brought many people into
that area offering aid to the volcano’s victims.
Throughout this time of chaos, a group of people,
who eventually went on to start the shop we all know
as BioMaret, were able to begin relationships with
some of the farmers who had been affected, seeing
these relationships as a potential opening to share.
This desire to share with these farmers became the
motivation of their love and service. Knowing that
truly, to share Jesus is the best service there is to offer.
As the effects of the eruption calmed down, the
group started to think about how they could continue
their relationships with the farmers. This was the
beginning of BioMaret. The idea was to start a shop
the could be a source of business for these farmers, a
business that would favor them instead of cheating
them or minimizing their income. As the business
began to grow they started to run into some problems.
Some of the relationships and management systems
that they had put in place started raising a few
complications. But here they demonstrated an
important part of service. That when things