I had just finished praying with a seriously ill woman. I stepped out into the hospital corridor to talk with her son for a while.
“John,” I said, “you’ll have to take care of the house while your mom is so sick. You’ll have to keep it clean and make her meals.”
He shook his head. “That’s not my style,” he said.
We all like to be waited on. We all think we deserve to be pampered. Working cheerfully for others is a foreign concept. Serving others is not our style by nature. It is learned behavior, and some, like John, apparently never learned it.
Jesus himself is our hero. He said once, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
If the omnipotent Lord finds fulfillment in doing things that bring benefit to other people, maybe that’s a clue how I will find satisfaction in my life. Isn’t that just like Jesus’ way—that I will find joy in giving joy? That I will get by giving? That my needs will be met by my serving others?
Who needs you right now?
