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"And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."
(Acts 16:33-34)
After the jailer was gloriously converted to Christ, he immediately began serving others. Those who do not serve and have no desire to serve have either not met Christ or are very immature and weak in their faith. Paul wrote these words to the Philippian church: "Let [Greek present imperative] this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form [Greek word morphe] of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant [Greek word doulos], and coming in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7)
Humble service always follows heartfelt conversion.
We are most like Christ when we are serving others. In our biblical text for today, this is seen in the washing of wounds and feeding of missionaries. I am blessed to pastor a church that has so many faithful servants of Jesus. When I think of serving, I think of Susan who tirelessly ministers to people in lower economic conditions; Nancy helps many in the city of Austin learn English through our ESL ministry; Fred gives abundantly his time and resources in helping the nation of Haiti; Ken consistently teaches his Connect Group class and has been doing so for 30 years. We are at the best we can be for Christ not when we are being served but when we are serving others.
Paul and Silas, in AD 51, in jail in Philippi, were delivered supernaturally by the power of God and led the jailer to Christ. He immediately began to serve those who, just a few hours before, he had unceremoniously thrown into the dungeon. One neat way you can serve in your church is by helping the God-called men and women who minister to you. In the last church my wife and I served in Arkansas, I met a family who visited our church, and he told me his dad was a pastor. Then he said, "I am a pro-pastor guy." I thought, "Man, I like this guy!" We have people like that here in Austin. Dallas Hendrix is a man of compassion, and he loves pastors. His dad was a worship pastor, so he knows firsthand what it is like for a pastor and his family.
Next, the passage says this was a happy man—he rejoiced. The Greek word is agalliao, which means to be exceedingly glad, rejoice greatly, and (my favorite definition) to jump with joy (Strong's Concordance, p. 7). And Luke tells us why the man is so thrilled with joy: he has been saved, and his whole household has come to faith in Christ and followed the Lord in believer's baptism. Now that is cause for rejoicing!
The happiest and most blessed people I know are servants of Jesus. How well are you serving our Lord?
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