Blessed to be a blessing
As we move to the New Year, I find myself in that place of thinking about what I want to do, be, achieve in the new year. I tend to get caught up in me, what personal feats I want to achieve, but God keeps bringing me back to one word – SERVE.
Serving others is a cornerstone message in the Bible. You see service in the lives of the prophets before Jesus came to earth. You see service in the life of Jesus. And, finally, you see service in the lives of those that came after Jesus.
In God’s message to Abraham in Genesis, He tells him that he will bless him (Genesis 12:2), so that Abraham will be a blessing to others (Genesis 12:2-3). Abraham is going to be blessed to be a blessing. The blessing he will receive from God has a purpose to bless others. Serve.
The life of Jesus was about service, continuing constantly, consistently, until he died on the cross. At the last supper with his disciples, Jesus washes their feet saying, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” Serve.
And, finally, Paul, who was not a disciple of Jesus while he walked on earth, caught the message from Christ. In his letter in Ephesians (4:11-13), he writes: “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up….”
Paul says that Christ made pastors and teachers to equip people to serve. The result would be unity of the church.
Paul’s message to the church is the same message to us today.
Service deepens faith and brings unity to families, churches, and business. With service, life is about others, and the by-product is strong faith and unity.
Without service, faith is empty, and fights unity. Said differently, without service, life is a selfish existence.
Serving others will impact your marriage, your family, your business, your church.
And, ultimately, service fulfills the server.
Impact others. Live generously.
This week begins the Impact Others, daily posting.
Each day will be a new posting. Sundays will be reserved for personal reflection.
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