Not to be served, but to serve

Reading this article by Rachel Jankovic was the nudge I needed to go ahead and write this post.  Go ahead and pop on over and read it. This post will still be here when you get back.

My prayer, as my second child's due date swiftly approaches, has been that the Lord would continue to make me the mother He wants me to be and that He would show me what loving my husband and children looks like.

As I've been reading through the New Testament in my daily reading I've really been struck by the following verse from Mark 10:

"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 ESV

 Now in the passage this is tucked into, Jesus is addressing his disciples to remind them what life between them needs to look like.  That life as his followers is not about position, status.  It is about serving.  Serving and sacrifice.  Two things that characterize how our savior showed his love for us.

My biggest opportunity to serve is at home.  It is in how I care for my child (soon to be children :-) ) and my husband, how I manage my home, and the attitude I go about that with.  I'm serving by doing the laundry, doing the dishes, cleaning toilets, and making the grocery list.  I'm serving by picking up toys for what feels like the millionth time, cleaning up vomit in the middle of the night, and by snuggling my sick child.  And all the while, in this serving, I'm learning more and more to make sacrifices.  I'm learning to set aside myself and look for the needs of others.  I'm learning to care for myself better so I can serve the Lord and my family better.  I'm being stretched to set aside some of the material things I once considered so important.

As I serve, there is sacrifice.  I am sacrificing what I want, what would be easiest.  In Romans 12:1 it talks about our need to be a living sacrifice.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."-Romans 12:1 ESV

Living sacrificially encompasses what each day should be.  All I do should be something that worships who my creator is.  Setting aside myself, my agenda and choosing to serve my family because I desire to serve the Lord.

Our culture tells us that our priority is ourselves, to do what makes us happy.  It tells us we need things and position.  That's not what life in Christ is about.  We're not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed.  Praise the Lord for His mercy as He continues to transform me!

"Do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."-Romans 12:2 ESV

For His Glory,

Courtney