How much of a desire do you have to serve others?  As part of a recent experience at encounter we looked at Matthew 12:18-21 where Jesus is described as a servant.  We saw 8 qualities from the passage that described the heart, attitudes, motivations, and cries of a servant’s heart.  We also saw that these were 8 steps that could move us closer to having the heart of a servant before God and for others.

Download the 8 cries of a servant profile and see how much a heart you have for serving!

Even the ones who heard Jesus speak and saw His face missed it. They somehow thought it was about governmental overthrow and political power.  They thought this “kingdom” Jesus spoke of was about position, rank, and power.   They had it all wrong.  Jesus interrupted their thoughts and told them that He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.  He came to buy back hearts that had been lost.  He came to start a revolution and it would happen through humility and serving.

In this series, we explore the revolution that can happen in a life, a marriage, a family, a church, and a nation when humility and serving become what life is all about.

download the slides here:  revolution thru serving

I’m reading the new book “We Get to Carry Each Other – The Gospel According to U2″ (by Greg Garrett) right now and it talks a lot about community and how the band has always emphasized helping those around us and the privilege we have to actually GET to carry each other. Yet for some reason we seem to think its a burden to build community, to open up to others, to share and serve.

How different our outlook and lives could be if we saw serving and loving others is actually a privilege – a calling – a purpose in our lives…

Imagine if you could find your purpose in serving your neighbors? Imagine if you could find your purpose in loving your spouse unconditionally? Imagine if you could find your purpose in serving your kids?

Imagine if we built ekklesia all around us – being the hands and feet of Christ in our own sphere of influence?

Wow!

Chewing on these ideas, I was struck by some great questions that Ryan asks on his blog…

1. Am I okay with having surface-level relationships with everyone?
2. Outside of my family, who can I really trust?
3. Do I have people in my life that I can call at 3am when everything is falling apart?
4. Are there people around me who can strengthen me when I’m weak?
5. Am I using my God-given gifts, talents, or abilities to serve my friends?
6. Am I investing MORE or LESS into the relationship than the person I’m trying to build a relationship with?

Ryan also shares some suggested steps towards authentic community:

1. Choose wisely. You don’t need to be friends with everyone.
2. Get coffee, have someone over for dinner, go play golf, etc..
3. Be intentional. Ask a deeper question // reciprocate.
4. Work at it. Don’t assume a relationship is fine.
5. Be transparent and authentic yourself.

What about you? What do you imagine would change if we really saw the privilege in carrying one another? Is there anything missing from either list?

every plant is held up by system of roots. 

they form a complex system that supports the tree and provide its nourishment.  whenever you see a tree, plant, or bush you can know there is a root system below the surface that gives it life.

i was reading through this passage recently and had a similar thought:

When someone slaps the right cheek, turn and let that person slap your other cheek.  If someone sues you for your shirt, give up your coat as well.  If a soldier forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles.  When people ask you for something, give it to them.  When they want to borrow money, lend it to them.  matthew 5:39-42

these are some radical requests!  turn into the face of pain, giving up, sacrifice; give up my rights, comfort, schedule, and possessions – for someone that is against me?  those are the opposite of everything that cries out within me!

thus enter the roots.

for someone to be able to forgive, love, and turn into the direction of pain, they must have a strong root system.  they would have to have something deep within that would cause them to love when love didn’t seem logical.  they would have to have something deep within that would cause them to serve someone who didn’t deserve being served.

wow. to live that selfless, that loving, that forgiving, that free, that focused. 

that is real life.

serving. 

first response to the word probably brings about a few thoughts:  1) what others do for me at a restaurant, 2) what you do in tennis or ping pong, or 3) something i want others to do for me and that i don’t want to do for others.

it seems there is a built-in aversion to the thought of lowering yourself before others and serving them, unless we hope to get something in return.  if our job is to serve others we don’t seem to mind as long as we get paid for it. 

but what about serving others and getting no pay, getting no reward, getting nothing in return? 

what if instead it was going to cost you more time, more energy, more money?  in fact, it was going to cost you your reputation, your standing, your pride?  it would mean that others would go first, others would have their needs met, others would find joy, others would prosper.

there is a natural aversion to serving.

its natural to who we are as capitalists, humanity, and 21st century people.  instead we demand to be served, expect to have our needs met, want to be first, and complain when things are not just like we want them.  you would think that with those expectations, demands, and wants we would be the happiest people on earth. 

instead we are dreadfully frustrated and unhappy.

Jesus introduced not just something He taught, but something He lived.  He practiced an aversion to being served.  He pulled away from moments where He was being elevated.  He put others’ needs above His own.  He sacrificed His way, wants, demands, and expectations for the sake of others.

as a result He had real life!  He was filled with joy in His sacrifice.  He was filled with purpose even in loss.  He was filled with confidence that enabled Him to humble Himself to the lowest form of serving. 

could it be that we have it all wrong?  could it be that what we fear most is what we need most?

Everyone had a blast working for and serving those who are often overlooked and miss out on some of the daily blessings we have in our own lives.

I talked to several who said that the holidays are always the hardest time of the year because of family and friends they’ll miss seeing for various reasons.

Others told me they just simply wanted to find a job. And had been moving from city to city simply trying to find steady work.

Another guy lost his wife to cancer three years ago and just returned to Dallas after spending the last three years with family in Jackson, Mississippi. I got the impression he felt like he simply needed to get back to Dallas and try and get his life back in order. He’s been living on the street in Dallas for the last several months.

They all had a story of their own and were usually willing to share it with anyone who listened.

It’s a lot harder to bypass or overlook these individuals when you stop and hear their story. It’s hard to paint them with the same old broad paint brush once you get to know their name and their story.

Below are some of the photos Theo took today at The Mission ::

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.