It's An Honor To Serve

I'm currently wearing a blue rubber bracelet with the words of the title in white letters.  It's the theme of the school this year.  And what a theme it is!

I've been reading in the first epistle (letter) of John for my personal quiet time.  And something that has struck me as I've been reading it and as instructors have talked about it is that if we love other people, we show that love by following God's commands.  I had never really thought about it.  But it's so true!

God's purpose in telling us to do various things was not to restrict our movements or make us feel like horrible people when we don't do what we are supposed to.  His first purpose was to show us our need for Him.  Without His work in our lives, there is no way we can ever possibly keep His commands.  But that's not my point in this particular instance.

He also wanted His commands to act as a guide to show us how to interact with Him and with other people.  You can see if in the 10 commandments.  The first four relate how we are to connect with Him: no other gods before Him, no images made to be worshiped, not take the name of the Lord in vain, and keep the Sabbath.  Now, keeping the Sabbath is not a commandment that is repeated as a command to us in Jesus' teaching, but the principle is still important.  Taking time regularly to rest and focus on God is REALLY important.  But I will not spend much time on that either.

The last six commandments in the 10 commandments have to do with relating to other people: honor your father and mother, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, and do not covet.

There are many other commandments in the Bible, but I'm just using the 10 commandments as an illustration since they are probably the more familiar of the commands of God.  Anyway, God's commands make it evident that He is interested in how we interact with other people.  Why might that be?  Well, because we are His representatives here on earth, who are meant to share His message with those around us.  If we can't interact well with other people, how can we possibly think we are going to effectively share His message?  And so, showing love for other people means we follow God's commands because He's given us a guide in how to show love.

Service.  It's a scary word sometimes.  I don't want to make myself lowly so I can serve you.  I'm too arrogant for that to be an easy pill to swallow.  And yet, it is necessary.  And it is an honor.  We're given various opportunities every day to serve other people.  Opening the door for someone.  Taking the time to say hello to someone.  Smiling as you pass by a stranger.  Such "small" acts of service can have a big impact.  And as we make a habit of doing them, we begin to see how true it is that it's an honor to serve.

In the Bible, the book known as the Gospel of Mark is all about how Jesus came to earth to be a servant.  Mark 10:45 says: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Son of Man refers to Jesus, just to clarify.  That verse amazes me.  If Jesus is the King of kings, and He came to serve, what right have I to say, "I'm too busy.  That's too lowly?" Or any of the other dozens of excuses I come up with on a daily basis.

So while service may result in getting dirty or being late for something I once considered important, it truly is an honor.

For anyone who wants to know how you can be praying for me while I am here, I have a couple requests:
1. Dehydration.  I struggled to take in enough water in Michigan where there is a lot more moisture in the air.  Now that I am in a very dry place, I'm really struggling to take in enough water.  And it has been a bit unpleasant when I have been dehydrated.  So please just pray that I would actually remember to drink water.
2. Classes.  I am truly enjoying classes, but I'm not used to being in school and my brain can get a little exhausted sometimes, especially with trying to get to know at least everyone's names.  I have two quizzes and five memory verses this week.  Not a horrible load, really, but something to pray about if you have time.
3. People.  The people out here are awesome and I am enjoying building connections, but I'm still looking for where I fit in and how to build into my peers.  My prayer group meets on Mondays for lunch and my section is meeting for devotions tomorrow afternoon.  So these will be opportunities to get to know a few girls better, and hopefully they will offer me more chances to know how I can build into people.

Feel free to email me if you have something specific you would like me to keep in mind for prayer.