Christian Families & Charity: Serving Jesus and Volunteering with Love
WWJD. What would Jesus do? This expression, turning up on key chains, bracelets, and countless other places, has been reminding Christians for a while now of what’s at the heart of the faith: following Christ. The ubiquitous acronym reminds young and old to consider what Jesus would do in any given situation and then to act accordingly.
One major way a person or family can imitate Christ is of course to serve other people. Parents who get their families involved in service, whether through a big volunteer commitment, or with a small, simple act, have a chance to help their kids put “WWJD” into action. Helping other people is what the humble and loving servant Jesus would do.
But when families ask “WWJD?” and then take part in some sort service, there is another question to keep in mind. Jesus always acted with love – both for the people and for God. Trying to really imitate Jesus means also asking if love is at heart of our plans to do good works. We should ask another question before we start our service: “HWJF? How Would Jesus feel?” We need to encourage our kids – and ourselves – to try to be more like Jesus and love both the people we’re helping and God who calls us to help them. How can parents make sure love is a real part of the service their families do? There are a few simple steps we can take which will ensure our families are serving with love.
HEARTS AND MINDS: To make sure your family is taking part in service with the right mindset, take time to reflect why you’ve chosen to dedicate time, talent, or treasure to helping people in need. Don’t let your family act out of guilt or some idea of “obligation.” Sure, Jesus asks us to serve other people, so service could be considered a Christian obligation, like going to church. But on the other hand, Jesus isn’t asking us to serve out of guilt or a mindless sense of duty anymore than he wants us going to services out of guilt. Instead, Jesus is asking us all to dig -sometimes deep- into our hearts and find a real love for our brothers and sisters, a love that motivates us to put ourselves at their disposal. Jesus is also asking us to show our love for God, not some guilty feelings. Start a dialogue. Find out what your kids think. Ask your kids a simple “WWJD?” and “HWJF?” and listen to their responses. Offer your opinions. Start serving with your minds and hearts in the right place.
LOVE DEFINED: So, before your family sets out to do something good for someone else, you ask them to make an effort to love the people they help. Simple enough. Except, kids may question how loving some stranger is really possible. This may be because they don’t understand the difference between the love they feel for family and friends and the bigger “Christian love,” we should feel for all people, the love in “love thy neighbor.” Kids may need some help sorting out these two types of love if they’re going to really feel what Jesus felt.
When I think about the difference between loving one you know and one you don’t know, personal love and Christian love, I think of the definition a Catholic nun/professor gave some of us when I was in college. Christian love, she explained, means wanting the best for another person, whether you know him or not; it means wanting him to develop fully as a human being. I think this is a beautiful way to explain how Jesus asks us to feel about brothers and sisters we don’t personally know. Want the best for them. Want them to be all God has made them to be. This is the love we’re all called to feel and act upon. This is the love we want our families to feel as we take part in a charitable act.
Of course the great thing is, families may find when they do service they do become friends with the people they help. Reaching out often creates opportunities to build relationships based on personal feelings. By being open to these opportunities for real friendships, we also serve with loving hearts, as Jesus did.
OUR FATHER: To truly follow Jesus as you do service, families should try to feel what Jesus felt for God the Father as he helped the sick, weak, and abandoned. As a humble servant, Jesus felt and then expressed his love for his Father as he performed miracles and ministered to the crowds. This idea of loving God by loving other people can be a difficult concept to grasp for children. They see how shoveling a neighbor’s driveway shows love for the neighbor; but how does it show love for God? You can help kids figure this out by pointing to the examples of everyday families like your own. A parent loves all his children. If one child helps the other child, out of love, it make the parent feel loved, too, because the parent and child are so connected. And the child who helps is doing what the parents has asked, too: be good to your brother or sister. Families who take time to do kind acts of service should remember to let their love for God be at the core of their motivation, just like Jesus did.
JESUS HELPS THE HELPERS: Once your family is ready and willing to love the people they’re doing service for, be it at a soup kitchen, a church fundraiser, or some other small or large activity, remember one last thing: as a Christian, you’re not just serving for God, you’re serving with Him. He is with anyone who does a loving act, if we remember to let Him be with us.
Before you go out and serve, you might want to reflect on scripture or recall a bible story with your kids. This
will show them the direct connection between what you’re about to try to do- and try to feel- and what Jesus did and felt. Whether He is healing the “troubled and abandoned” (MT 9:36) or teaching the masses who seem “like sheep without a shepherd…” (MK 6:34), Jesus really loves those He serves. He also clearly helps others out of love and loving obedience towards God the Father. (JN 14:31). This is what Christian families strives to imitate. You don’t need to look any further than the Gospels to find your role model.
You probably pray with your kids all the time, maybe before bed or at dinner. How about praying with them before you do your act of service? This will help you focus and remember you’re serving out of love for God and others. This will also give you a chance to remember your own weaknesses and needs as you set off to address the weaknesses and needs of others. What are some things to ask for in prayer? Ask God to help you to see whomever you’re helping that day as your brothers and sisters with pride and dignity and worth. Ask God to help you be strong and patient as you work, because the work might not always be easy. Ask God to open your hearts to the little chances to connect with others – including your family members- which may come your way during the time you’re doing your service activity. Ask God to help you see His face in everyone you encounter that day. And you might also want to thank God for the opportunity to do something for others.
The key point to keep in mind as your family sets out to perform acts of real Christian service comes from looking at the example of Christ. That point is the questions “What would Jesus do?” and “What would Jesus feel?” are not really two separate questions at all. They’re an inseparable package. Jesus never acted without feeling love, and he never felt then failed to act on it. Constantly feeling love and acting out of love: that is that way of Christ.
