Definition:
Service is the expression of Christ-like love through meeting the practical needs of another.
I admit to a slight sense of trepidation as I prepared to talk about the practice of service. Facing a group of people who have served their socks off over the years, and continue to serve in some capacity today… I wondered what I could possibly bring. I certainly wanted to avoid patronising or alienating anyone.
An ice breaker exercise to establish the years of service represented by everyone there was fun! We totalled approximately 625 years between us. What a legacy!
All of those acts of service; from making drinks, leading worship or groups or meetings, praying for people, cleaning & painting etc, etc.; we appreciate them all very much. And every one of those acts has been seen and appreciated by your Heavenly Father.
As we’re aiming to deepen our relationship with Jesus, to become more like him; we revisited the reality that Jesus served from a place of love. He chose to be a servant. It was his identity!
Reflect
So some of the questions we considered were:
- Do we still have an open heart towards serving… Or have we become jaded, burnt out?
- Have we become invested in projects of love rather than being people of love?
- Are we keeping healthy boundaries and feeding ourselves spiritually… or are we just too busy to stop?
- Is God calling you into something new… or is it time to lay something down?
Go Deeper
There’s so much we can still learn about service. If you’d like to hear more or go deeper, check out this video:
