Ouachita Stories

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45

Many of us strive to make our own name known, especially when we enter new places and are meeting new people. This could be at the start of your college career or a new semester. We want to impress our teachers, friends, and classmates with our abilities, the amazing trip we took over the summer, or (as many Christians are tempted) with the way we served.

Serving is a very important part of the Christian life. We have the greatest example of a true servant in Christ. The only man who truly deserves to be served came to earth instead to serve the undeserving. In the ultimate form of servanthood and sacrifice, He died on the cross, so that we would be reconciled to Him.

He commands us to be servants as well. Lucky for us, there is never a shortage of ways to serve if we’re willing to see. There are always people who need help: an elderly couple who needs some yard work done, someone in a nursing home who just needs a kind visitor to talk to, or a younger kid who needs help learning to read or needs someone to hang out with. Being actively involved in a local church will also open several doors for servanthood.

Christ calls us not only to serve but to serve with a particular attitude. While Jesus was serving, He did not brag about it or draw attention to Himself or the work that He was doing. And although serving is something Christians can often turn into a badge of honor, in Jesus’ day, the call was to a low position. They were not proud, but worked quietly. They served for the sake of others rather than for their own recognition.

Christ does tell us that to be great you must be a servant, but we must make sure that we are using His definition of great and not our own. We need to make His name known and not our own. We are greatest when we are bringing Him glory. I challenge you to find a way to be a selfless servant wherever you are. If you do not have the desire to serve, I challenge you to pray for that desire. By serving, we become more like Christ, which is so much greater than having our own name known.

Taken from Campus Ministry's devo book found here: Extra Ordinary