What Does It Mean To Serve?
"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."
- ROMANS 12:10
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
- 1 PETER 4:10-11
REFLECTION
Something that the Lord is teaching our family right now is what it means to SERVE within the Church. Serving is more than just volunteering. In full transparency, there have been times where we have shown up to volunteer but we were not there to serve. Our natural state of selfishness and entitlement can make it difficult to truly serve to the glory of God some days.
It is interesting when you look in scripture and you see the epitome of service. Mark 10:45 states “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.” You see this displayed as Jesus became the Suffering Servant on the cross, ultimately doing so to bring glory to His Father.
At the end of the day, we are promised that we will find our life when we lose it for His sake. We are called to honor others above ourselves and to use our gifts to bless others. It is a wonderful challenge that the Lord gives to us that provides purpose to our lives and allows us to participate in the work of His Kingdom. As it says in 1 Peter 4, we should serve so that “in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” If we are serving for any other reason, it isn’t really service at all, is it?
As you pray and meditate on the Word today, it might be helpful to ask yourself a few questions that have been challenging our family in the past year:
And when all else fails, remember to serve with J-O-Y. Putting Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last.
SCRIPTURE
44 It was now about the sixth hour,[e] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,[f] 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
- LUKE 23:44-47
PRAYER
Jesus, will we remember what You did. That You went to the cross and gave up everything. May we be reminded that You are worthy of our service. Worthy of our praise. Worthy of our adoration. Let us not serve reluctantly or under compulsion. May we be cheerful in our service. Lord remind us of who we are and our need for You.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
- ROMANS 12:10
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
- 1 PETER 4:10-11
REFLECTION
Something that the Lord is teaching our family right now is what it means to SERVE within the Church. Serving is more than just volunteering. In full transparency, there have been times where we have shown up to volunteer but we were not there to serve. Our natural state of selfishness and entitlement can make it difficult to truly serve to the glory of God some days.
It is interesting when you look in scripture and you see the epitome of service. Mark 10:45 states “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many.” You see this displayed as Jesus became the Suffering Servant on the cross, ultimately doing so to bring glory to His Father.
At the end of the day, we are promised that we will find our life when we lose it for His sake. We are called to honor others above ourselves and to use our gifts to bless others. It is a wonderful challenge that the Lord gives to us that provides purpose to our lives and allows us to participate in the work of His Kingdom. As it says in 1 Peter 4, we should serve so that “in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” If we are serving for any other reason, it isn’t really service at all, is it?
As you pray and meditate on the Word today, it might be helpful to ask yourself a few questions that have been challenging our family in the past year:
- What does serving look like in my life?
- If I am serving, am I simply volunteering or am I practicing servanthood?
- What Fruit of the Spirit do I need to practice when I am serving?
- Who are the people around me that I can serve with?
- Am I serving so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ?
And when all else fails, remember to serve with J-O-Y. Putting Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last.
SCRIPTURE
44 It was now about the sixth hour,[e] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,[f] 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
- LUKE 23:44-47
PRAYER
Jesus, will we remember what You did. That You went to the cross and gave up everything. May we be reminded that You are worthy of our service. Worthy of our praise. Worthy of our adoration. Let us not serve reluctantly or under compulsion. May we be cheerful in our service. Lord remind us of who we are and our need for You.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
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2 Comments
Thank you for the thought-provoking comparison between volunteering and serving.
nAlso like use of the word JOY to help sharpen our focus on service and praise to God.
The Lord loves a cheerful giver. Not just the gifting of our shillings, but the giving of our time and talent that He has blessed us with!
n
nGreat reminder.