What Does Jesus Mean By Serving Others?

“But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 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.”  Mark 10:43-45

In the church where I pastor, as in every mainstream church, we talk often about serving others. Often we make a list of serving roles on Sundays, from being an usher and collecting the offering, to being a greeter, helping on the parking team, or leading a preschool classroom. Each of these roles is important and helps our church function and be an engaging and welcoming place to come to know God and grow in His Word.

But don’t let that hour on Sunday be the totality of your service. As Christ followers, we are specifically instructed by Jesus in the area of serving others. What it looks like, He says in Mark 10, is that each of us in daily life put our own interests behind the interests and needs of others. So far behind, in fact, that our desire should be that we are consistently meeting the needs of everyone else.

Jesus reminds us that He did not come to be served, but to serve. This is an astounding statement. If anyone should expect to be served it is Jesus. Yet His life on earth was filled with examples of serving others. And His specific instructions to us follow along with His example. To follow Jesus is to live a life where we are always looking for ways to meet the needs of others, through our talents, gifts, and abilities. It is a lifestyle of putting others first, thinking not about ourselves and our own desires, but also about what others lack that we can provide.

Certainly opening doors and handing out bulletins on Sundays is a way we can serve. But don’t let your Sunday service keep you from a lifestyle of service. What are you doing Monday through Saturday to impact your community, your school, your family, or your business through your service? Is your life, as Jesus commands, one in which you are not first, but last, following the example of Jesus and using what you know and what you have to lift up and help everyone around you?

God, Your Son Jesus gave me the ultimate example of what it means to be a servant. Not only did He serve in practical ways, but He also served me to the point of giving His own life for my sin. Reveal to me ways in which I can serve others every day. Broaden my horizon when it comes to serving, and help me to not only look for practical ways to serve others every day but also to grow in my service by acting as a servant in every facet of life. In Jesus’ name, amen.