Becoming Like Jesus: Spiritual DisciplinesSample

Strength | Serving God

When it comes to loving God, serving is probably one of the first things you think of, and that makes a lot of sense. After all, Jesus literally washed people’s feet and told us to follow His example.

Why is it that we associate loving God with serving others, with doing good?

Well, it’s kind of like this. Imagine your best friend has a kid. And you don’t like them. You think they’re an annoying little punk, and you make sure you let them know. In fact, you tell your best friend, “Hey, I love you, but I don’t like your kid. So, when we hang out, I’m probably going to shove your kid out of the room. Is that cool?”

Absolutely not! You can’t say you love your friend and then be a jerk to their kid.

The same is true of God. We can’t be right with God and wrong with others. And one of the best ways to love God is to care for His kids.

Let’s jump into a story Jesus told about this exact thing.

Pray …

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to save me. I’m different because of Him. Help me to never forget Your love and Your grace. Show me how to live for You. I want to make Jesus’ habits my habits so I can grow as a disciple. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read …

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:34-40 NIV

Consider …

Jesus is roleplaying a future conversation between Him and His followers, and He’s kind of pulling a bait-and-switch. He says, I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat … Iwas a stranger, and you invited me in. And everyone is confused. But then King Jesus delivers the punchline: “... whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Whatever you did for one of God’s kids, you did for Him.

Jesus is careful to include the qualifier, “one of the least of these.” Why? Well, He knows us. He knows that even with this perspective, we are still, by default, selfish. We give in order to get something back. We serve to curate our image. We pick and choose the opportunities we step into based on what is most profitable to us. Yikes.

Jesus was not like us. He picked the people society rejected, He served people who had absolutely no means to pay Him back, and He associated with people who could harm His reputation—radicals, prostitutes, and traitors. The least, the last, and the lost.

What does it take for us to become like Jesus in this way, for His love to work itself down into the deepest parts of who we are and then work itself out through our literal bodies—our hands, our feet, our eyes, our mouths?

We need to retrain our bodies not to seek our own pleasure and comfort, but to pursue the good of others.

Thankfully, this is one of the primary purposes of spiritual disciplines. Think about it. Almost every one of the practices we have talked about so far includes doing something with our bodies. Think about fasting or getting in a posture to pray. Our bodies are so much more than a container for our brains—they’re an intentionally crafted part of who we are that allows us to actually do what Jesus did and love how He loves. Jesus didn’t love us from a distance or in theory. He loved us up close and tangibly. He didn’t just think nice things about us. He laid down His life for us.

Practice …

How can we practice this? Retraining our bodies to love like Jesus and prioritize self-sacrifice over self-gratification is a process—a process of becoming aware of our desires and submitting them to Jesus. But, more often than not, we don’t even realize how we’re operating because we never slow our bodies down and are never quiet.

So, let’s close out our time with another habit of Jesus known as silenceandsolitude. This is the practice of creating space in our lives, by getting quiet and being alone, so we can experience the presence of God.

Find a comfortable place where you won’t be distracted. Maybe in a cozy chair, a closet, or even outside on a porch. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes. Next, ask God to speak to you. When you get distracted, bring your focus back to God by repeating this short prayer:

(Breathe in) Lord Jesus, (breathe out) have mercy on me.

(Breathe in) Heavenly Father, (breathe out) speak to me.

(Breathe in) Holy Spirit, (breathe out) guide me.

When the timer ends, thank God for the time you spent with Him, then head into your day looking for ways to love Him better and serve others.