Service to Everyone
During my relatively brief college career at North Park, I have gained many insights in many different areas. I have been challenged by physics, inspired by music, and prompted by philosophy to think more critically. My college experience has not consisted wholly of academic pursuits, however. The insights that I have gained in the area of Christian service have been important and profound, and have done much to shape my view of the world. I am learning that service is not an event, but a continuing action, which I need to extend to all people.
The summer before my first year at North Park, I stayed in Uptown for a week with my church youth group. The Uptown area of Chicago on Lake Michigan was at one time a resort area for the wealthy, but now it is a center of poverty and homelessness. We worked with Uptown Baptist Church and organized a five-day Bible club in one of the neighborhood parks. During that time, I learned how eager the kids in that area are to reach out to people who show love to them.
At North Park, through an organization called Urban Outreach, I have since become involved in a program that enables students from the college to spend time in an Uptown shelter for homeless women and children. The prospect of continuing to serve in the Uptown area excited me, because the children’s openness and obvious need had made a large impact on me. The children at the shelter are very similar to those with whom I fell in love on the streets of Uptown two summers ago. Most of the children quickly cling to the students, and they are clearly looking for someone to show love to them. They often eagerly await us at the door before we arrive and are slow to let go of us when it is time to leave. It is easy to serve the children, because they love us just as much as we love them, and we can see the impact that we make in their lives.
I used to think that real Christian service is the kind that we do at the shelter, and that I am finished serving for the night when I get back home. I am learning that God calls us to serve not only when we attend a planned service event, but every minute of our lives. I think back to the times when I have neglected to sit next to a fellow student at lunch who does not have many friends. Other times, I have not taken time to find out what is bothering a friend because I have so much homework to do. The needs of our friends and everyday acquaintances may not be as obvious as those of the children at the shelter, but the same attitude of service should guide our relationships with them. I am learning that becoming a servant like Jesus means that we should be purposely seeking to serve whoever is in need, wherever we are.