Mark 10:45 “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

You have seen bumper stickers that say “I’d rather be flying, sailing, jogging, swimming, fishing, golfing” and the like. For a while there were so many of those bumper stickers it made you wonder if anyone was actually doing what they want to do! Everyone seems to wish they were somewhere else.

We all understand this attitude. Life has duties and responsibilities. Some things are more fun than others. Some things are more satisfying than others. There are lots of times I find myself thinking, “I’d rather be fishing.” In fact, I’m going to do just that tomorrow!

The message of those bumper stickers is “I want to have fun all the time!” We all do. But life is not like that. We are called upon to be responsible individuals in our families and in our communities. There may be some things that we do not like, but we still have to do them. And as the followers of Christ, we need to recognize that God has called us to duties and responsibilities, not just privileges.

The Christian faith is a marvelous thing. We know beyond all doubt that our God has given us the richest treasure imaginable: complete forgiveness for all sin. Our sin had separated us from God and doomed us to punishment in hell. But our loving God intervened to provide the forgiveness we need. He did that by offering His Son to die in our place, making payment for sin, and raising Him again as the victor over death. He came as a Servant. Faith in Him gives forgiveness. This forgiveness entitles us to live in the certainty that we will live and reign with Christ for all eternity. It is a message that should make you feel warm inside, secure and happy.

However, the Christian faith is not a feel-good do-nothing faith. It is not centered in self. Rather, it continually leads its followers to ask, “Where can I serve?  How can I help you?  What can I do to make things easier for you?  What are your needs today?” That is what your faith in Jesus Christ should lead you to ask. But what I so often find is people doing everything they can to make life easier and more enjoyable only for themselves.  They stop at nothing in their efforts to feather their own nests. Some act as though they think God has called them to serve themselves, not others.

This philosophy is espoused by many in our society. This attitude was evident when a lady offered to take care of a six-year-old daughter of a friend, who was leaving town for a few days. On the first morning, the lady prepared breakfast, and brought a big plate of ham and eggs to the table. The little girl said, “My mother always fixes biscuits.” Wanting to be cooperative, the lady returned to the kitchen and made some biscuits. When she brought them to the table, the little girl said, “No, thank you.” “Didn’t you say your mother always had biscuits for breakfast,” the lady exclaimed. “Yes, she does,” replied the six-year-old, “but I don’t eat them.”

Do you get it? I do what I want to do, and I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. If you don’t like it, too bad. Many of us behave just like that six-year-old. We would like to go through our entire lives and do only what we want to do, and what we want to do is be happy, secure and comfortable. This attitude of society has spilled over into the church, and it can be summed up easily: ME, ME, ME, ME.

The attitude of the Christian should be just the opposite of this attitude of selfishness. Our faith in Jesus tells us that God is first, other are second, and we are third. Instead of ME, ME, ME, it should be GOD, GOD, GOD and OTHERS, OTHERS, OTHERS.  We should be living lives that serve others the way Jesus did. It is only after we have seen to the needs of others that we should attend to our own needs. This is quite a contrast to the way most people live. Our sinful flesh would have us consider only our own needs.

Chew on that a while and I’ll have more on this tomorrow.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cheryl and I will be co-hosting a trip to Greece next year with Donna Snow:  “Walk in the Footsteps of Paul.”

Links to the registration and brochure, along with previous devotions, can be found at revmattil.org.  If you want more information, email mike@revmattil.org.