The older you get, the more you wonder where your get up and go, got up and went. We recently drove to West Tennessee and back for a weekend visit for our grandson’s second birthday. Was it a tiring drive? Yes. Was it a lot of playtime with Webb? Yes. Was it a burden? No. Why? Because of our love for our grandson, we would forego our own plans and make time to be with him and celebrate with him. This is easy for everyone to understand when it comes to our own family and seeking to please them.
Why is it though, when it comes to going out of our way and changing our plans to do something for others, even our brothers and sisters in Christ, that we make excuses and avoid getting involved? Yes, serving our church family can be tiring and inconvenient for us, but we are not doing it out of obligation, we are doing it out of love for them and God.
Sherrye often reminds me and herself that we should “be thankful for the opportunity to serve.”
- “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45, ESV).
- “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13, ESV).
- “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10, ESV).
- “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10, ESV).
Jesus came to serve and so should we. Let us always be thankful for any and every opportunity to serve others out of love.