Worship Through Service
Open Your Bible
Matthew 25:31-46, Isaiah 58:6-11, Mark 10:35-45
BY Guest Writer
Have you ever wrestled with what it means to serve? In my own life, I’ve found it’s far easier to seek out what’s fun or brings comfort. Life gets tiring and stressful, and the only way we can survive is by putting something “fun” on the calendar, something to look forward to. Our family does this, and I don’t believe there is anything wrong with it. But I wonder if our craving for fun is masking a deeper desire for joy—the kind of fulfillment that comes from serving others.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that when He returns He will know who loves Him by the way that we help others: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in” (Matthew 25:35).
We’re tempted to read this verse and say to ourselves, “I need to sign up for a food kitchen” or “I need to give that homeless person a dollar the next time I see them.” These are all good things, sure, but is this the kind of service Jesus is really talking about in this passage?
Jesus also said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). These two passages are bold calls to live our lives wide open to constant, regular, and sacrificial acts of laying our lives down for others. Jesus’s words beckon us to worship Him not through obligatory service, but with guttural prayers asking the Lord to allow us opportunities to love in His name.
Why does Jesus ask this of us? Jesus loves us, came to die for us, and knows that the only way for us to have the full, free, and joy-filled life that we so deeply desire is through the laying down our lives for others (John 15:13).
What does this look like? It might look like embracing an interruption in our already busy day. Or perhaps it looks like bravely praying that God would send someone your way to love in His name. It might look like asking Him to reveal opportunities to worship Him through service to others. Maybe you’re called to embrace the uncomfortable and not shy away from that call because you are afraid of the unknown.
When we create margin in our lives to serve others, we realize that any sacrifices we make to worship God in this way—whether it be through our time, resources, or creativity—all pale in comparison to the joy we receive as a result.
I pray that today, God would show us ways we can serve as Jesus served, and that the joy that wells up when we do would create an unquenchable desire for more!
Maria Furlough is a wife and a mother to one amazing 11-year-old daughter, three rambunctious boys, and one baby boy who lives in the arms of Jesus. Formerly a full-time youth pastor, Maria now teaches women’s Bible studies and works as the Missions Team leader at Lake Forest Church in Huntersville, North Carolina. Maria is the author of Breaking the Fear Cycle: How to Find Peace for You Anxious Heart and Confident Moms, Confident Daughters. You can find Maria on Instagram or Facebook @MariaFurlough or online at www.mariafurlough.com.
84 thoughts on "Worship Through Service"
-
I’m in Awe and it’s only day 3!!!!!
-
This is a really good way to put this! I hadn’t heard it like this before. We can’t make Gods kingdom fit into our ideas but rather fit our ideas and reshape then to match what He is doing
-
I love this. It’s really humbling and a good reminder of how our hearts should be postured when serving. Just as Jesus came to serve and not be served, we are here to serve his people. One of the big lessons I am learning is to serve solely for the purpose of loving God’s people and not with an agenda behind it. I love to serve, but God has revealed to me that a lot of the times I serve, I have a plan that I think will help make things better. It’s not wrong to be ambitious or to want to always try to improve things, but sometimes you are called to just serve purely out of love. Serve because because you care. Show people what God’s love looks like just as Jesus showed us it here on Earth. This alone will improve the environment around you by filling it with love.
-
DAY 3: WOW!! Another confirmation on my calling when reading today’s message! I have always had a heart for humanity and that’s why I am a caregiver for human trafficking and why I serve on the safety team at church. My soul was born to serve especially to serve the Lord. If you are not serving, you are missing out on a feeling of Gods love. I am the happiest on Sundays when I enter Gods house to serve him. Today’s scripture is about being a good servant but not only at church but for the less fortunate. Be blessed by being a blessing to someone else!
-
Thank you for this
-
Good word of encouragement and clarification on a topic that often gets turned into a pressure tactic to get people in the church to add more “ to-dos” to their list rather than truly understanding what this call to service fully means.
-
<3
Post Comments (84)