Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)
What a great week of learning! Observing Jesus practice the Disciplines of Service and Stewardship certainly challenges and inspires. The comments posted are also a source of challenge and inspiration.
Please review the thoughts that have been shared this week and respond to the question below.
Today’s Question:
What have you learned this week that you could apply to your practice of the Disciplines of Service and Stewardship?
March 12, 2016 at 6:26 pm
Its very inspiring to be like Jesus. But Its important not to try too hard. We all have different gifts and abilities … or calling, if you will. I think of this when I think of the discipline of service. As someone said some are naturally inclined for service but what about those who are not so inclined? In scripture, the analogy of the body is used to describe the ‘body of believers.’ Are the hands more important than the knees? We are called to do different things within the body.
We want to emulate Jesus but is that we need to complete a checklist of things we should be doing or is that we are attempting to adopt his mindset, his worldview i.e. “Be like Jesus’
I ask this because its a bit overwhelming when you think you should be doing all this stuff and feel like you lack the hardware to be effective. That’s my take it on it … maybe I lack perspective?
March 12, 2016 at 8:14 pm
I agree that service should not feel like a chore. Instead, it should be grounded in gratitude and love (i.e., gratitude for what God has done for us and love for Him because He loved us first). I also agree with you that service should also not be the result of legalism or a checklist (Jesus exposed the futility of this approach). I do believe though, that we are called upon to do a lot of “stuff” but not in our own strength (“we can do all things through Christ”). Your reference to the analogy of the body also raises an interesting question. Does the fact that we have different gifts mean that some are more naturally inclined to serve? I believe that though our gifts may be different, they are all provided so we can serve. So, we are all called to practice the Discipline of Service but not in a legalistic way.
March 12, 2016 at 10:49 pm
Thank you for breaking it down for me! I didn’t see it in quite that way – seems kind of obvious now (lol) … of course we all can provide service in our own unique way!
I tend to think of service in terms of doing ‘mother theresa’ – esque stuff …
March 12, 2016 at 7:39 pm
Keep my heart and eyes open to see where I can serve. Sometimes I am on autopilot and become unaware, blind or immune to those around me in need. Jesus was always in tune/sensitive to the needs of those sound Him. He also made time to hear their stories. So I need to make myself available to others and listen.