Who is being served?

Joshua 24:15
"But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Luke 16:13
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

There are at least four participants in the development world and they all vie for primary importance in our minds as we set about our task of raising funds. All are critical, but only one can be preeminent.

The school is the beneficiary of generous giving and we should vigorously promote the work going on. The school is also the "translator" of the funds into the Kingdom purposes in this particular ministry. The school is not the primary participant.

The fundraiser who makes the case for the school is very important. To many people, he or she is the face of the school, the one who is seen most often and the "message-bearer". We solicit the gifts and acknowledge them, too. The fundraiser is also not the primary participant.

The donors who share their wealth are vital to the school. Not only is their giving important, but they also help carry the message to others, thereby amplifying the message so it can be heard by others who might be led to give to the school. The donor is critical but also not the reason for our work in Christian ministry.

Then there is Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. To paraphrase Ford, "Jesus is job one". In every facet of our work we must see our Lord as the object of our work. We are to reflect Christ is every aspect. The Lord himself is the one who gives the gifts and the Holy Spirit is the one who motivates the giver.

Yes, Jesus is the one who is to be served.