Romans 12:9-13 (NASB 1995) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. 

First, serving out of anything but the love of God will not work, or will not last a long time, because in your strength and by your flesh, that lovely feeling you have for the brothers and sisters will not remain. It has to be done by the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5). In the verses right before Romans 12:9-13, you will find that Paul, by the Spirit of God, is talking about what many call the grace gifts. And actually, all gifts and abilities come from serving grace. There is nothing we do for God that is without a grace gift if it comes from and is inspired by the Lord. This list of grace gifts is only a partial list of things someone could do to serve in the Body of Christ. The list would have been way too long to include every gift. 

You have a grace gift that God has given you, and you must use it by love and faith to serve the body of Christ and the world. According to our verses, we are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. If you are truly devoted to someone, you will see that their needs are met. In other words, you will serve them, or take care of them. We are, by the love of God, to give preference to one another in honor. If we all began to honor one another in love, the world would take notice. Remember, Jesus said that in the world, the one in power, the rich one, the important one is the one who receives honor and is served, but in the Body, Jesus came to serve, and we, too, must be servants serving everyone the same. 

How do you serve the Lord? By serving the Body of Christ. How? By contributing to the needs of the saints, but this is not only talking about financial help.  Sometimes, it is a warm greeting when someone gets to church, a safe place for someone to put their baby or children, help in finding someone a seat, or just wanting to know how someone is doing. We, as servants of God, are also to practice hospitality. Does that mean I have to invite everyone to my home? I don’t think that is the only way to practice hospitality. The Helps ministry is to provide hospitality in the church. I think it is an attitude that says, “I am here to serve you, to help you, and to make sure you have all you need.” There is an entire industry built around it. We should be hospitable at church more than any other thing we might do during the week. If we really are walking in the love of God, we would serve someone, we would be hospitable to them.