Lessons From Jesus About Serving

Jesus is known for his many acts of serving others throughout his earthly ministry. His loving example provides us with lessons we can apply in our own lives today.

In Matthew 20:28, we witness Jesus telling his disciples that he did not come to be served, but to serve. Jesus is teaching here, that in his first coming, he hadn't come to sit on a royal seat in a palace and have people serve his every need and desire and to submit to him. His purpose was to serve others. And he expected his disciples, including us, to live with that same purpose. This is the first point about serving that we can learn from Jesus.

God didn't choose us or call us to be served by others or to "get" from others. He called us to be a benefit to others around us. To serve, to give, to love, to shine, to forgive, to share. He created us to bear fruit. What good is fruit that stays on the tree? It just rots away. Fruit is meant to be given to others to benefit them. We are told in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”

We can serve every person we come into contact with and it's not limited to strangers or those in need or volunteering. We can serve our spouse, our children, a parent, co-workers, employer, friends, neighbors, cashier, customer, and so on. We can serve them by giving a listening ear, doing a chore, providing encouragement, going that unexpected extra mile, taking our spouse’s car in for an oil change, helping with homework, taking a parent to a doctor’s appointment. It doesn’t have to be a big, grand action of serving, it can be the simplest of things. The important thing is that we need to focus on always leaving people in a better state than we found them at any particular time. In this way, we can fulfill our calling to serve.

The second lesson from Jesus is that our focus in serving must always be outward, not inward on our own desires. Jesus did not expect OR want accolades and he didn't expect anything in return. As Apostle Paul teaches in Philippians 2:3-7,

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."

To keep our focus outward, it's important to not expect anything in return just as a fruit tree doesn't get anything in return from those who consume it's fruit. It provides the fruit, people take it and reap the benefits of satiety, good health and growth. If we look for recognition or gratitude in response to our service, we will often be disappointed.

The final lesson from Jesus is to serve as a representative of God. Jesus served others as the representative Son following his Father's agenda. Jesus tells us in John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."

As we serve others, we need to remember that we are not only representing God, but we are also Ambassadors of Christ as we read in II Corinthians 5:20. As such we must walk in the footsteps of Jesus and follow his example.

We may feel that we are not qualified to serve like Jesus served, but God has given us everything we need. Just as He provides the tree with its needs of sunshine, rain and pollination, He provides us with the strength, wisdom, skills, and abilities to serve others. We were made for it.

So let us fulfill our calling to serve, not expect anything in return, and be an Ambassador of Christ and a holy representative of our Father in Heaven.