The church’s secret weapon.
In 2005, I bought my dream car.
I saved enough money to buy a two door, extended cab, Silver Toyota Tacoma with the TRD off-roading package. There was a reason behind buying the two door version of this truck, and that was because I didn’t want to be everyone’s chauffer.
There was one major problem that no one warned me about.
I learned very quickly that if you buy a truck, while you may not be everyone’s chauffer, you will be the first person people call on when they need to move or haul heavy items. Let’s just say that people loved to call me on Saturday mornings to see if they could use my truck…and the person who drove the truck…to help them move.
If I’m fully honest with you, when people first started asking me to help them, I remember having a very poor attitude about it. I had to sacrifice MY time to lift YOUR heavy items and it felt like a BURDEN.
I started asking myself these questions, “If I sacrifice my free time to help you move, what’s in this for me? Do I get paid? Do I at least get free pizza out of this? Are you going to pay me back later when I need something?” While I never voiced those feelings to the people I was helping, those questions were very real.
But something interesting started to happen the more I helped people move. I realized that nearly every time I finished helping, I would leave the house feeling accomplished and very satisfied. I would leave thinking, “Man! I’m really glad I did that!” Maybe I didn’t always get paid or get pizza for lunch, but the joy of helping a friend or family member in a time of need was so impactful for me. The more I served, the more my attitude and perspective of life started to change for the good.
I learned something valuable in that season of owning a truck and it has stuck with me ever since.
In John 13, we see a very famous passage of scripture where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. It’s onle a few days before Jesus would die on the cross and so He decides to have one last meal with His best friends. In this scene, we see the Savior of the world get down on his hands and knees, put a towel around his waist in order to scrub the dirty, grimy, calloused, and smelly feet of a bunch of men who wear sandals and walk in dirt all day.
In the first century, washing feet was a demeaning task that was typically done by the household servant or a slave. Never, ever, ever in the history of mankind would you ever see a superior wash the feet of those they lead. So the question begs to be asked…
What was the purpose behind this humble act?
Jesus wanted to show us what unconditional and unending love actually looks like. He wanted to show us that nothing is below Him and nothing is too menial for Him. Which is why a few days later He would go to the cross and die a brutal death so that we could all have eternal life (Mark 10:45, John 3:16).
His legacy of love has been in motion for thousands of years and has reached us today. My life has been transformed by this sacrificial love and I’ll never be the same. My guess is that if you’re reading this, you have experienced the love of Jesus at some point in your life.
But what are we going to do with it? Is Jesus legacy going to end at us or will be keep the legacy going?
After washing the disciples feet, Jesus would go on to tell his disciples in John 13:17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
Science would actually show us that when we serve others, our brains release a feel good chemical called dopamine. Which means that serving others actually increases your levels of happiness and decreases your feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression. Meaning that one of the best anti-anxiety medications is serving others!
That is because God designed serving to be a blessing, not a burden.
It’s not just a blessing for those receiving our help. It’s often times a bigger blessing to the one serving because it brings deep levels of purpose and joy that only God could provide.
Which brings me back to what I mentioned earlier. We are never more like Jesus than when we serve.
- How will you serve your family?
- How will you serve your neighbors?
- How will you serve your community?
- How will you serve your church family?
Let’s commit to “being the church” through serving and watch how God’s love transforms everyone involved...including you!