But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. – Mark 10:43b-44 (ESV)
Though not a Christian, Mahatma Ghandi’s well-known quote is sobering: “I like your Christ. I don’t like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ.”
Most of us have undoubtedly quipped, “If you want to be great in Heaven you must be a servant on this earth.” The question becomes, how often do we walk the walk of this sentiment? Today’s world is geared to creating individuals who want to be served rather than be servants. We need to combat that mindset constantly.
Perhaps the key to implementing today’s Scripture verse is determining how you can serve others. A good start may be to ascertain their needs – physical, emotional or spiritual – and then rise to the occasion of meeting them. You may find that following lyrics of the chorus of an old hymn to be a prayer for you:
Make me a blessing
Make me a blessing
Out of my life
May Jesus shine
Make me a blessing
O Savior, I pray
Make me a blessing
To someone today!May you be a blessing to someone today!
Adapted from the Discover & Respond 40 Day Devotional (http://fh.org/40daysdevotional). Photo by Jennica Reis, used with permission.
In preparation for this trip, Lindsey asked me if I’d like to stay with a family in one of our communities. To be honest, I said ‘yes’ with great trepidation. I chose the word ‘trepidation’ in that sentence because it’s a big word that I’m not sure I’m using correctly and that’s about how I felt when I said ‘yes.’
Honestly, I hesitated quite a bit. As I thought about my response, I realized something important: I’m getting very comfortable in my role right now. I’m comfortable knowing I’ll sleep tonight in my warm, safe king sized bed. I’ll wake up tomorrow and make myself a white chocolate mocha (just like I did this morning, and just about every morning). I’ll go into my air conditioned office and set about to help change lives. From the comfort of my executive chair at my glass desk in my air conditioned office.
Do I really understand how the people in Guatemala live? No. Do I understand the true impact when we sponsor a child or give a gift from the gift catalog? Not really.
But for one night, I’ll spend time with a family we serve and have an opportunity to see impact for a short period of time. Even if it’s just one evening.
I hope to wake up the next morning and understand a little more about the people we serve.
I hope you’ll join me in learning a little more about a family just a 6 hour plane flight from home.
Will you join us?
You can join us by following #fhbloggers on Twitter and Facebook. The best way to join us and show a father’s love is to sponsor a child. Your monthly support impacts the life of the child and the community to help mend broken relationships and solve poverty and hunger at its core. We have a surprise for those who sponsor a child in Guatemala over the next 30 days – just forward your receipt email with your sponsored child on it to Lindsey Nobles and we’ll send you a special gift.
