What does it mean to serve others?

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 NLT

The first thing that comes to mind is when I worked with the youth at Hus Church. For several years the youth group would serve the free meal on the first Sunday of each month at 1st Presbyterian Church.

My wife and I would serve along side the youth. It was never a burden to them or to us. They understood why we serve others. Several serve their communities today.

The impact on them was powerful. It was the week following one of the meals that a parent contacted me. Her son had been crying when he got home. His heart was touched and broken for the people we served, but it was the 3 young children that had come for a meal that really got him. They came in alone. Their clothes were worn and dirty. They most likely had not had a decent meal in days. They were also homeless. It was something that these you had never encountered. It taught them what it means to serve others.

There are a lot of "Christians" who hop from church to church looking to find a place that will serve their needs. They have it wrong. Church is not a social club or a country club where we are served. It is not about us.

Christ is our example. His time here was spent serving others. He even spent His final 24 hours serving. He washed the Disciples feet. He was put on trial for our sins and He was beaten nearly to death for those sins. Finally Jesus was crucified and died for our sins. 

So what comes to mind when I think about serving others? We serve others to bring glory to God just as Jesus showed us.