“The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve”  —Jesus

True life is ministry,  People tend to think that they rise in this world by getting away from service, but the opposite is true.  No person really begins to live at all, in any worthwhile sense, until selfishness dies.  We should not be asking ourselves how we can use other people to advance our own interests and well-being, but how can we do good for them, serve them, and in some way be a blessing to them.     

Stay at the feet of Christ until your heart overflows with love for everyone — even people whom you do not like.  Then begin to think about them and live for them.  Christ was always making people happy.  You too can scatter happiness and grace as a flower scatters fragrance.  It is a wonderful thing to put gladness and joy into the heart of another person.  

Love, in its best moments, does not stop at doing a little.  It does not calculate what it will get back; it does not analyze the pros and the cons; it does not measure what it gives against what it receives.  It simply thinks the highest and works for the best of another.

If our love for Christ was stronger, deeper, richer, and truer, we would not calculate so closely how much we can afford to give or do.  Neither would we consider what we get out of the relationship.  

“Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair;…But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples…said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’” (John 12:3-4)   Those who do not love also do not get it…

Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: To glorify God and enjoy him forever. -Question 1 of the Shorter Catechism

The central law of the Christian life is ministry — serving others; blessing them, loving them, doing good toward them.  We are in debt to Christ, therefore we owe grace toward other people.  He loves us, so we owe love toward others; he served us, so we must serve those around us.  

We are not to ask to be served, rather we are to do the serving.  As Christ did unto us, so we do unto others.

“The Son of man came not to be served but to serve” -Matthew 20:28

There are people in this world who say whatever they think and laugh about it because they “are being honest,” regardless of where the words land or whom they hurt.  We have no right to say whatever we think, unless what we are thinking is in love.  If we must express ugly thoughts, then go off somewhere that no one can hear.  But otherwise, our neighbors heart should be filled with the love and grace of Christ.     

If Christ is truly in us, then we will see everyone we meet as someone to whom we owe a debt of love.  Every person is sent into our life to receive comfort, strength, inspiration, a touch of beauty, a bit of cheer, or a quiet benediction.  We may never do one thing which the world would consider great, or report in the news, but  every word we speak, every act, every influence we have “in his name,” will be ministry of love which could last a lifetime — and beyond.  

It is not a true act of the faith to have compassion for people in far away countries, and then disregard the person next door.  The true Christian is the one who forgets self in his or her own neighborhood.  The same sweet, patient spirit of Christ is carried wherever the person goes.  The hands are gentle as an angels, and forever reaching out with a blessing.  Words are filled with sympathy and tenderness, carrying comfort to the sad, courage to the faint, and life to the beaten down.  

To be selfish toward the person next door is to disfigure the divine beauty of Christ within, and to be a living contradiction.  

Love “thinketh no evil” the old King James Bible says.  It does not suspect unkindness in kind deeds.  It does not imagine an enemy in every friend.  It does not fear insincerity when hearing statements of appreciation.  It does not impugn motives or discount actions.  

On the other hand, it does overlook weaknesses, failings, and hides the multitude of faults which belong to every human being.  It believes in the good which in in others, and tries to always think of them at their best rather than their worst.  

Looking through love’s eyes can transfigure life and change the world around us.   

The quality of love is measured by what it will do, what it will give, and what it will suffer.  God so loved the world that he gave — gave his only Son, gave all, held nothing back.  

We say that we love, but what are we willing to do?  If we love like God, then we must be willing to…

What a joy and yet a curse God has placed upon us — love, that is.  It is the height of pleasure and delight, while being the source of our deepest pains.  Years of life are spent in its pleasures, surrounded by those whom we love.  Then, because of the love, comes the pain of separation.  

The child grows up and leaves.  The parent grows old and dies.  If it were not for love, it would not hurt.  Were it not for the years of being bound to another, we could continue on not aching for the one now gone.  But such is the wisdom of God that this of of his design.  Our task is to pray for the grace to live it out well.