Staying connected to love now gag me

On this first Sunday in the season of Advent, I remember how Rosemary Brown, a highly respected minister in Tennessee, tells a charming story about a little girl in her church named Mickey.

Mickey is 4 years old. She is a precious, adorable, outgoing little girl who loves to sing.

One Sunday morning, Mickey ran down to the front of the sanctuary just before the start of the morning worship service, and with great excitement, she said, "Miss Brown, can I sing a song this morning?"

Not wanting to say "no" or to be a stumbling block to this vivacious little girl, Rosemary said, "Of course you can." Then, Rosemary announced to the congregation that 4-year-old Mickey would sing the call to worship to start the service.

Rosemary Brown picked up Mickey and stood her on the front pew. She turned her around to face the now expectant and smiling group of people in church that day, and Mickey sang:

"Jesus wuvs me dis I know for da Bible tells me so. Yes, Jesus wuvs me." And then, Mickey threw her hands straight up in the air (like she had just scored a touchdown) and with a triumphant voice she said: "And, dat's dat!" And then Mickey sat down.

Mickey was right on target, wasn't she? What more do we need to know? Jesus loves us and that's that. When we are scared or confused or lonely. When we have to make a hard decision or face a challenge. When we feel rejected or cast aside by someone. When we lose a loved one or face our own death. What more do we need to know? Jesus loves us, and that's that.

Staying connected to Christ is so crucial for us as people of faith. How vitally important it is to stay connected to Christ's servant mentality. Serving others, loving others, reaching out to others, helping others - this was without question the approach, the lifestyle, that Jesus chose.

Years ago, a group of educators in our country wanted to honor Albert Schweitzer, and they brought him to America. The University of Chicago planned to give him an honorary degree. When Schweitzer's train arrived, the university leaders ran to greet him warmly and they told him of their joy in having him here in America.

But then as they turned to leave the train station, suddenly Schweitzer was gone. He just disappeared, vanished, slipped away. They looked everywhere for him. Finally, they found him. He was carrying a suitcase for an elderly woman. He saw that she was having trouble and rushed over to help her.

You see, it was so much a part of his life to be a servant for others that it was as natural as breathing for him (when he got off the train) to immediately begin to look for somebody to help. That was his approach to life, and he had learned that from the Bible, he had learned that in Church and he had learned that from Jesus. Schweitzer loved to help other people because he was strongly connected to Christ and his servant mentality.

The university officials said later that when they saw Dr. Schweitzer helping that woman with her suitcase, they were wishing like everything that they could find somebody they could help, somebody whose suitcase they could carry.

Put that over against this. Some years ago, Mother Teresa was asked by a reporter one day, "What is your biggest problem?"

Without a moment of hesitation, Mother Teresa answered with one word: "Professionalism." She said, "Here are these servants of Jesus who care for the poorest of the poor. I have one who just went off and came back with her medical degree. Others have come back with registered nurse degrees. Another with a master's in social work. And when they came back with their degrees, their first question always is, 'Where is my office?'"

Then she said, "But you know what I do? I send them over to the House of the Dying where they simply hold the hands of dying people for six months, and after that, they're ready to be servants again.'"

This was the greatness of Mother Teresa, her unflinching commitment to stay connected to Christ's servant mentality.

That's your calling and mine as people of faith - not to be "prima donnas" but to be Christ-like servants who are strongly and unwaveringly connected to Christ's servant mentality.

Recently, I was walking up to the building where a meeting was being held. A young woman was just behind me. I held the door open for her. She was offended by that, and she said, "You didn't have to hold the door open for me because I'm a woman."

And I said, "I didn't hold the door open for you because you are a woman. I held the door open for you because you are a person. I learned from my family and in Sunday school long ago to be a courteous and polite servant to everybody. If you had been a man, I would have held the door open for you."

And she said, "Cool."

Well, it is "cool" when we stay connected to Christ's servant mentality when we get up in the morning and go through the day looking constantly for ways we can be Christ-like servants.

If we are to stay alive and well, if we are to thrive and produce good fruit in this world, if we are to remain spiritually healthy and whole, then stay connected to Christ's servant mentality, remembering always that Jesus loves us and that's that.

Dr. Fred Andrea is the pastor of Aiken's First Baptist Church.