A Fundamental Truth About Following Jesus

I only knew my husband for a few months before we got married. We only dated for 2 weeks, and our engagement was less than 24 hours! The night he proposed, we found ourselves married in the courthouse by 4PM the next day. Suffice it to say, there were many things I didn’t know about him. When I moved in with him his house was very bachelor-esque. There were no curtains on the windows, no rug in the living room, and he didn’t even have a bed in the master bedroom, just a sleeping bag and his drum kit! While I was ready to make the house a home, he had different ideas of how we would spend our money.

I was about to learn that my husband was a very generous person; so generous, that I was annoyed about how much he gave of his (now our) personal belongings, money, time, and whatever else anyone needed. I didn’t get to buy curtains because he gave all of our money away! I laugh about that now.

As time went on, I became less irritated and more intrigued by his way of living. It is contrary to our nature to think more about others than we do of ourselves. Not to say that my husband was perfect in this, but I realized that it wasn’t something he thought about doing, it was who he was. Whenever there was a need, he was going to do whatever he could to help out. He was the best example I had at the time, of someone who genuinely lived their life in service to others. He emulated servanthood to Christ well.

This is one of the most foundational, yet underappreciated, truths of the Gospel in our culture today: When you choose to follow Christ, you die to self and serve others.

Philippians 2:4 says, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Today, we are constantly looking to our own interests and not looking to the interests of others. We sit on social media, Netflix, Hulu, Pinterest, and video games, for hours and then tell people we don’t have “time” for them. Making ourselves busy with idleness, we waist away the opportunities to be a light in someone else’s life. Our culture promotes “me time” and “self-care”, and while those aren’t bad things in the right context, it is a promotion to think about yourself more. The world has no standard, but Christians are to be set apart from the way the world thinks! Galatians 5:13 says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Set yourself apart from the way the world thinks.

We often don’t realize how possessive we are of “our” things: my breath, my money, my time, my house, my car, my food, my resources, my sleep, etc. A part of maturing in Christ is recognizing that none of those things are ours to begin with, but they are all a gift from the Lord. The example we are to follow is Jesus himself. He gave up everything in order to serve those around him. He possessed nothing and freely gave all that he had, including his own life. Jesus said in Matthew 20:26-28, “…whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

You are loving God when you serve those around you.

I read this quote in an article by Elizabeth Elliot, “The measure of our love is the measure of our willingness to be inconvenienced.” To love others is not always easy. This is a way we deny ourselves so that Christ can live. Learning to walk in obedience to God in a life of servanthood is challenging and sometimes disappointing, because your flesh will desire earthly gratitude, and you will not freely receive as you freely give. But your reward is not earthly recognition and appreciation.

When we serve others in their time of need, we are serving God (Matthew 25:40); anything we do for others, we do for Him. To think that all of the times you are serving the people around you, you are serving God…what an amazing reward! We aren’t giving of ourselves to receive an earthly reward; we give of ourselves to receive a heavenly reward. When you expect others to praise you or see your acts of service, then you have lost sight of the purpose in which you are serving (Mathew 6:1).

Be dependent on the Spirit of God, not on your flesh.

Another way we mature in Christ is by recognizing that we can’t do it all! We will feel overwhelmed, and we won’t want to give people our time, our homes, our money, our listening ears, and in those moments 1 Peter 4:11 is for you, “…If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Christ Jesus…” When we rely on the strength of God, we learn how much we are capable of in Him. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God that we can sustain in a life of servanthood to Christ.

I realize that there may be times when we need to regroup and focus on our families for a particular season, but that doesn’t mean that that season lasts forever! Our goal should be to prioritize our time in such a way that the family gets what they need, while being able to love those around us through serving their needs, too. We should be encouraging one another in love and good works (Hebrews 10:24), this applies to the members of our family also. We need families who are looking out for the interests of others, not just individuals.

Fight the temptation to serve yourself.

If we want to know how we can serve others, we have to be involved and aware of what others need. Whether at work, at your kids’ sports, in church, or at the grocery store, pay attention to those around you. Step out of your comfort zone and ask how you can get involved. We have to find time for others outside of ourselves and our own families. We have to act, think, and speak differently than the world does. Pray that God would bring opportunities along for you to start growing in this area. I know from experience that this looks different for everyone. Some people have more capacity than others. God is faithful, and he will give YOU what is right for the season you are in. Don’t limit His abilities because of your fears. Just like the parable of the talents, “To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability…” God knows exactly where you are at, and he wants to use you! If you want to be used by Him, expect growing pains in this process of sanctification. Every Christian who is committed to following Christ should desire to be a great servant and slave to all, as Christ himself was.

“Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.” – Galatians 6:9