Belmont University - Freshmen First Forty DaysSample

Day 18 – Service

As followers of Christ, we are called to live a life of service. This lifestyle is one that Jesus models for us in the Gospels and is taught throughout the New Testament. It’s important that we recognize the humility that Christ demonstrated in his life as he served. Consider the time he washed the feet of his disciples. The image of our Lord serving us in such a way is somewhat unsettling. Shouldn’t we be the ones washing his feet? I cannot think of anything more humbling to us than the fact that Christ humbled himself to serve us. Everything we do should then be done in such humility, acknowledging the sacrifices he made and the love that has been shown to us as we fulfill this calling to serve one another.

We must also understand that when we do serve others we are, in a sense, “washing his feet.” Proverbs 19:17 teaches us that, “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.” Similarly, Jesus tells us that whatever we do for those in need, we are really doing for him. What if we looked at each person we serve as if we were looking at Christ himself? Are you aware that you are serving God through serving others? We often fail to grasp this reality.

At the center of our efforts to serve should always be our relationship with Christ. In James 2:17 we learn that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” When we serve others, it is the outworking of our faith—the evidence of our relationship with him. Why do we serve? We serve because we know Christ. Sometimes we get caught up in the act of service and lose focus of why we are serving at all, and who it is that enables us to serve. Everything we do, if not grounded in our relationship with God, is ultimately meaningless. We must remember that because Christ humbled himself, we have the
privilege of humbly serving others in His name in order to glorify Him.

MASON RUSH | RA, Sophomore | Commercial Music major