The Priority of Service
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”
Galatians 5:13–15
I read a story written by a doctor in which he described having to give a man a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It was his last appointment of the day, and after the patient left, the doctor prepared to go home. When he reached the parking lot, he saw an elderly man with the hood of his car raised. As he got closer the doctor realized someone was on the ground underneath the car working on the engine. In a moment he realized it was his patient. When the car started and the elderly man drove away, the doctor asked what the patient had been doing. “Helping out,” the answer came. “My cancer didn’t say I couldn’t help someone who needed it.”
There are always excuses we can find to avoid serving and helping others. There are always other priorities to which we could devote our time and attention. But if we are to live as Jesus lived and follow in His footsteps, then we must be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to serve. Again and again Jesus gave up time and strength for the sake of others. Though He was God, healing others took a toll on Jesus—a toll He thought worth paying. “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30). If we see others as Jesus did, as precious people with great needs, we will be more willing to humble ourselves and serve them.
Galatians 5:13–15
I read a story written by a doctor in which he described having to give a man a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. It was his last appointment of the day, and after the patient left, the doctor prepared to go home. When he reached the parking lot, he saw an elderly man with the hood of his car raised. As he got closer the doctor realized someone was on the ground underneath the car working on the engine. In a moment he realized it was his patient. When the car started and the elderly man drove away, the doctor asked what the patient had been doing. “Helping out,” the answer came. “My cancer didn’t say I couldn’t help someone who needed it.”
There are always excuses we can find to avoid serving and helping others. There are always other priorities to which we could devote our time and attention. But if we are to live as Jesus lived and follow in His footsteps, then we must be willing to make the sacrifices necessary to serve. Again and again Jesus gave up time and strength for the sake of others. Though He was God, healing others took a toll on Jesus—a toll He thought worth paying. “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30). If we see others as Jesus did, as precious people with great needs, we will be more willing to humble ourselves and serve them.
Today’s Growth Principle:
We have no higher calling than to be humble servants of others just as Jesus was.
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