Loving Life

(photo:stocksy.com)

“…let us not love merely in theory with word or with tongue, giving lip service to compassion, but in action and in truth—in practice and in sincerity, because practical acts of love are more than words.”—1 John 3:18, Amplified

Timely words from the journal…

The other day, I ran into an old friend who owns a restaurant. He said it was time for us to get together and catch up because he thought we might have more in common that we realized. I suggested meeting at his restaurant but then quickly cut off the idea, “Oh right, you’ll be too busy.” But my friend’s response was as from Heaven itself. “I only want to serve. And I’m not talking about waiting on tables.”

When reading through the gospels, if you had to give a description of how Jesus walked in love, then humility, honor and servanthood would surely be near the top of the list. And He would say, right on: “the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many—the price paid to set them free.” (Matthew 20:28) Paul in his letter to the church at Philippi puts an exclamation point on it: “Jesus has always been as God is. But He did not hold to His rights as God. He put aside everything that belonged to Him and made Himself the same as a servant who is owned by someone.” (Philippians 2:6-7)

Foot washing, for example. In Jesus’ day, washing someone’s feet was such a low, dirty task, it was left to a servant or a slave to do it—a respectable person would never stoop so low. But on the night of the Last Supper, out came the basin, water and towels as Jesus flipped the tables on His disciples (then and now) once more:

“I am your example; keep doing what I do...

...I tell you the truth: a servant is not greater than the master.

Those who are sent are not greater than the one who sends them.”—John 13:15-16

Opportunities to love and serve—big ones, but especially the small ones no one really wants to do or notices—await us every day. And each time, it will be easy to say to ourselves, “too busy” or “don’t have the time” or “let someone else do it who seems better qualified.”

It is better to be like my friend. It is even better to remember that I am not my own but I am “owned by Someone,” to  step into every day thinking not “What’s in it for me?” but “What’s in it for Thee?”

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”—John Bunyan