In Service of Others

Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in service of others. So use your gift well.

1 Peter 4:10, CEV

When reading this scripture for the first time, I automatically assumed that the “wonderful gifts” we’ve been blessed with were our natural talents, skills and abilities. We all have certain things that we are good at, departments in which we excel, but also areas that we struggle. This scripture is speaking about a specific gift that we all as Christ followers possess, and that is the gift of salvation.  

As so very thankful as I am for salvation, it’s not meant for just me. I’ve been given this gift to use to serve others. We as Christians are ultimately called to serve and minister. The moment I took up my cross to follow after Jesus, it was no longer about me.

We see an attitude and a life dedicated to serving others in the three years that Jesus spent on earth. Every single miracle and word He spoke was for others. I would be remiss if I did not also mention the cross, where the ultimate act of servanthood and sacrifice was made for all humanity.

In Matthew 16:24, we are literally asked to lay all else aside, and to pursue Christ continually: “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”

We live in a society that puts little to no emphasis on serving others, and it can be extremely difficult to push beyond what I want, into what do others need. It is basic human nature to live selfishly, and to only pursue our own desires.

1 Peter 4:10 in the King James Version reads, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” The phrase “even so minister” in the Greek language in translated to “diakoneō” and it is a verb. A verb is an action, so therefore to minister and serve others requires movement, effort and energy. It demands that we make a conscious decision to not only think about ourselves, but to develop empathy and a genuine love for our neighbor.

Servanthood comes with a negative connotation a lot of the time, sadly because humanity has abused something that God created to be beautiful. What a blessing to be able to work alongside our brothers and sisters (not only in ministry) and to truly be able to help, encourage, support and love one another.

I believe God is calling us back to the basics of what He deemed the two most important commandments. First, we must love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and mind. Second, we must love others as much as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-38)

We have been given this gift of grace for a purpose, and it is to serve.