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"
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Hi Candice, I, too, have experienced miscarriage and I know what it’s like to go through that rainbow pregnancy, afraid to be hopeful, always alternating between joy and anxiety. I am praying peace over you and your husband, that this pregnancy would be completely healthy and that God would comfort you in this time. Congratulations ❤️
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This is a good thought to start the day thank you. Reading your bio I wondered tho – aren’t your boys ‘amazing’ as well? I often notice how people describe sons in less favourable ways to daughters – ‘trouble’, ‘a handful’, even ‘energetic’ becomes rather negative. How we describe our children impacts how they see themselves. Yours respectfully…..
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Praying that our spirit is sensitive to the needs of others in order to love them on behalf of Jesus.
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Hello friends! I just got married to my best friend last week. Our first month of marriage couldn’t have started out better: we started a 21 Days of Prayer with our church, so every morning, we get up at 5:30 and pray together and worship for an hour. It really is so incredible. I’m asking for prayer that our marriage will be so blessed and we will grow closer to one another and Christ. I have had a weird sense of fear for about 5 months now. It has a lot to do with my past, but the enemy will just put it on me randomly and I can’t seem to shake it. It really got better once I became married, but it happens a lot when I’m alone. I’m asking for prayer that I will be able to own that fear and call on the Lord to take it away. Thank you.
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I am an elementary teacher. Two years ago, at the end of the school year, I resigned. I had just had my third baby boy (3 boys in three years), and I was tired, exhausted, and didn’t feel like I was doing either job to the best of me. So, I was going to become a full time mommy. I was happy.
Then I wasn’t. I found out my husband had been having an affair for over a year. It was a work affair. They got caught and fired.
I now had a 3 year old, 1 year old, and a newborn to take care of with no job and a cheating spouse.
The very next day I went and banged on my principal’s door begging for my job back. They willingly gave it because they hadn’t found a replacement, but I was angry.
I resented my job all year last year for the reasons that I had to be there. I hated to go to work every day, because I was supposed to be home taking care of MY babies.But there was this one girl. She wasn’t my student, but she passed by my class every morning. Her hair was in disarray. Blond and short and matted. Her clothes were never appropriate for the weather and rarely fit. One morning I slyly pulled her into my classroom. I brought some leave in conditioner from home and and extra brush and some ponytails, and I fixed her hair. And so began our relationship. Every single morning she would stop by and get her hair fixed. We didn’t spend more than 5 minutes together each day, but we would talk and laugh and I learned about her family. Other teachers caught on and if she was late (happened often) they would usher her down to me before bringing her to class. And so went our year.
This summer I received a call. There had been a house fire, and she did not make it out. A piece of me died that day with her.
Reading this today I realized my purpose at my job. I’m not there to provide for my family, but I am there to serve. This year was about her. Not me. She needed me more. My boys did and still do, but they have me plus more. She needed me. I was there to serve her. I AM there to serve all of my students in my class and even those that are not. I AM there to be Christ’s love to those who rarely see love. I am sobbing as I am writing this. As I start a new year next week my purpose is to serve as Christ served.
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Wow. I am in awe. You have so much wisdom and compassion for people, I can just tell. Thank you for sharing this and I will
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Olivia, I am so sorry to hear about the little girl. I am sure you are devastated and heart broken. Praying for you today. That you are able to serve not only at school but at home and that Christ fills you with His love for you to pour out onto others. Thank you for sharing your heart.
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Thank you so much for sharing your story Olivia! I am so touched and you brought me to tears. I will pray for healing and encouragement in your situation. You truly showed her Jesus’ love and she’s in heaven with Jesus now. What a true act of service, I’m grateful to read your experience. Sending you love <3
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“Maybe you are called to embrace the uncomfortable and not shy away from that call because you are afraid of the unknown” I needed this. We started fostering because I can’t have my own children. The little one we took, we soon found out that mom was pregnant. We were told we’d either take the baby or the little one we’ve fallen in love with and who is blossoming in our care would be taken from us, because siblings wouldn’t be separated. After praying about it, we both felt “I really don’t want too, but I feel we should”. So much unknown, so many fears. But it’s about serving the one who gave it all for me. And these little ones will make it worth it. So will my Father.
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Sisters, thank you for your prayers! Today they were able to perform a procedure on my sister that has never been done in the United States before in order to relieve the severe inflammation. It was successful! Now we just wait and see. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good!
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❤️
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Churchmouse, you are definitely still serving on the front lines, by sharing your witness, encouragement and compassion with the ladies here on SRT. Thanks to you and all the others who post making us part of a virtual community of believers. It is reassuring to know that we all experience struggles with faith and high moments of joy and peace along our walk. God created us for togetherness. With age and experience hopefully come wisdom, gratitude and humility (a choice over bitterness and despair) . Thanks to technology, age and distance don’t have to create a barrier for helping us find our worth in HIM. “LiveLove!”
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