The clock is ticking down toward the crucifixion. Jesus gathers his disciples around him to teach them one last, profound message. John 13 records the washing of the disciples' feet by Jesus. Our focus yesterday was on this phrase: "and having loved them, he now showed them the full extent of his love." In the context of this passage, Jesus connects love with servanthood. In other words, you really haven't loved someone fully until you are willing to serve them.
What is it about serving others that is most difficult for us? Is it that we are lazy? Do we struggle with time management? Do we not understand kingdom values? Is it pride? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts about why there seems to be a gulf between knowing and doing!
3 comments:
I HATE these questions! A little too close to home! You mean I might have to actually give up some of my precious free time to "serve?" Seriously...I don't know about anyone else, but it is a preciaous commodity for me! Those weeks when I have meetings, etc, and only one free night in the week...it's a challenge to give it up...and it should be...man doesn not live by meetings alone! Maybe I need to look more at creating margin in my scheduling in the first place...so I'll have more free time...and therefore more opportunities to plug in some service and still keep my sanity!
I love how one of my mentors talks about using his outlook calendar specifically for scheduling margin time. It's the tool he uses to be certain that he has the margin he has in his life and to prioritize his life. I could do a better job of that as well.
If I could pay money to save time, I would. So many of us work in careers that demand so much time from us that we cherish the very little free time we have. I will shamefully confess that there were times when Christy and I turned down opportunities to serve because it was on the first night in a month we'd have to be with each other uninterrupted.
We live in a culture that demands so much time that, as I mentioned above, we're willing to pay money to save time.
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