Heavenly Service

After the resurrection of the Savior, the apostles went fishing at the Sea of Galilee.  John recorded that after Peter suggested the idea, “they went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.”  When the morning came, Jesus showed up and said unto them, “Children, have ye any meat?”  They had labored all night trying to fish, but they had caught nothing.  Under the Savior’s direction they cast their net to the other side and caught a net full of fish, and then realizing that it was Jesus they went to the shore.  I’m impressed by what they found there: “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread…. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine…. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise” (John 21:1-13).  Here He was, a perfect resurrected Being, having just accomplished the most important feat of all human history, concerned with visiting the four corners of the earth to teach the lost tribes of Israel as He would tell the Nephites, and yet He took the time to perform the service of feeding His apostles.  The Savior had apparently obtained bread, made a fire, cooked fish, and then called to the fishermen who must have been famished (and exhausted) after toiling all night on the water.  Not long before He had similarly humbled Himself to wash their feet the night of the Last Supper, and He showed in this incident that even as the Resurrected Lord, He still was devoted to serving and loving the children of men. 

             This experience matches exactly the message of Melvin J. Ballard that I’ve quoted before: “Service is not something we endure on this earth so we can earn the right to live in the celestial kingdom. Service is the very fiber of which an exalted life in the celestial kingdom is made.”  We don’t serve here on earth to earn our way to a life of ease in heaven; we learn to serve in order to become heavenly, for service and love is the order of heaven.  This experience of Christ with His apostles at the Sea of Galilee reminds me of another heavenly being who provided similar service in the Old Testament.  Elijah was in the wilderness, depressed and desiring death after the confrontation with the priests of Baal, and he laid down under a tree.  We read, “As he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again” (1 Kings 19:5-6).  This heavenly messenger had come not just to give a message to Elijah, but like Christ he too made a fire, prepared food, and gave it to Elijah who otherwise probably would have just let himself die there.  The angel was interested not just in performing his duty but in loving and nurturing this prophet who was struggling.  So if heavenly beings such as Christ and this angel are not above service and performing commonplace tasks to bless the lives of others, how much more should we be devoted to serving all whom the Lord places in our path!  As Jesus put it during His ministry, “He that is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11).