We Are Commanded to Serve Others
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me see my opportunities to serve others. Amen
“Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” Philippians 2:1-7 (NIV)
REFLECT:
In the focus Scripture, Paul reminds us to “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…”
Recently I was reminded how individuals do this when I attended my 95-year-old aunt’s graveside memorial service. For several years she had suffered and in the last year she had horrible pain in her back that could not be relieved by any medication. A team of specialists worked with her with minimal success. Physically her body had reached the end of the road. At this time, a team from hospice was brought in to help her be as comfortable as possible through her last days. Through their tender touch, care, and expertise they were able to make her comfortable for the first time in years. My cousin, who was at my aunt’s bedside, said my aunt was able to get rest, talk with her two sons, and then pass to her heavenly home quietly in her sleep. What the hospice team was able to do models what Christ asks of us in this focus Scripture.
APPLY:
Max Lucado reminds us, “Haven’t we known the power of a Godly touch? Can’t we offer the same? Think of someone who has a compassionate spirit. How is this spirit expressed through his or her actions, speech, and demeanor? With the Lord’s help, how can you work at better showing compassion?” Take time to provide the Godly touch for someone who needs an act of kindness.
CLOSING PRAYER:
God, show me someone who needs your Godly touch and guide me in the best way I can to provide it. Amen
CONTINUED READING:
Romans 12:10-12, Luke 6:35, Hebrews 13:16