April 12, 2017

It’s Not About You

Written by Boyd Bailey

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – April 12, 2017

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10:45

I don’t like it when I don’t get my way—embarrassingly this is one of the ways I am most unlike Jesus. Furthermore, I want others to think I am valuable. I want them to affirm me. I want them to respect me. I want them to love me. When I fall into self-obsession—a “look at me” funk—I am almost certain to not be very focused on Christ. My heavenly Father reminds me, “Dear Boyd, take your eyes off yourself—look into My loving eyes and look for ways to serve others”.

Even the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] left His heavenly home full of God and worship of God to live among sinners, to serve sinners and to love sinners—though having no sin of His own. If anyone ever deserved respect and attention it was God in the flesh—Jesus, yet He deflected His own needs (not my will, but Your will be done)—for the sake of serving—even giving His life from a heart of love. Jesus forsook ease to please His heavenly Father by fulfilling His purposes.

“Very truly I [Jesus] tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing” (John 5:19).

Since it’s not about us, how can we make it about others? One way is to deny ourselves in deference to another’s desires. My way may not be the best way, certainly not the only way—so, why not embrace someone else’s idea to honor them, learn from them and give them an opportunity to grow. If one person makes most or all of the decisions, both parties miss out on being challenged to live out of their comfort zone and trust the Lord more fully. Love honors others.

Most of all, we grow in our love for others by following how Jesus loved others. He fed them. Perhaps we open our homes the second Monday of the month (Ministry Monday) and invite several friends, even strangers over for a nice meal and conversation. We expect nothing in return, just a fun time to hear each other’s story. Jesus also taught practical truth. As we get to know new friends we can humbly share truth applicable to where others are struggling. Life is not about us, so let’s live boldly, authentically and generously in the Lord’s service to others.

“Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality” (Romans 12:9-13, MSG).

 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thanks for the model of my Savior to serve others and not expect to be served, in His name I pray, amen.

Application

When can I routinely open my home to love and serve others without expecting anything in return?

Related Reading

Joshua 24:15; Acts 28:7; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1 Peter 4:7-11

Post/Tweet today

Jesus forsook ease to please His heavenly Father by fulfilling His purposes. #WisdomHunters #serveothers

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Comments

  1. Charlie says:

    Thank you for being so honest; I certainly can relate to your first paragraph as this is something I’ve been struggling with. My question would be where does one draw the line? I’ve been at both extremes, serving and thinking of others, and being selfish and only thinking of myself.

    I find it difficult to find the right balance, as when I say “yes” to everyone, I end up burned out and taken advantage of. On the other side of spectrum, I feel guilty and selfish. Jesus clearly gave everything, yet he made time for himself to get away and recharge.

    Any further insight on finding the correct balance would be greatly appreciated.

  2. Terrance says:

    I love your daily scripture, stories, reminders, etc, thank you! Could you please have someone work on your links though? Quite often when I try to share on Facebook, when I click on the link to share it ends up being a completely different day, topic, scripture, story, etc… there for making it difficult to share the ones I was wanting to share, including today’s. Thank you so my h and God bless! Sincerely, Terrance

  3. Gwynne says:

    Dear Terrance,
    Thank you for your kind words about the daily devotionals. We are so sorry about the challenges with the FB link and appreciate your patience. From what I understand, there is a “time delay” with the FB link and sharing the current devotional. I will pass along your message to the Wisdom Hunters folks that are much more knowledgable in this area and see if I can get more clairty. I will be sure to pass any information along to you.
    However, in the meantime, you can always email your friends and family the daily deovotional or have them sign up to receive the devotionals every day.
    We are thankful that you are a fellow wisdom hunter and I will be in touch with you soon. I hope you and your loved ones will have a happy Easter.
    He is risen!!
    Blessings,
    Gwynne
    “But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.”
    Mark 16: 4-5


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