Serve Others

On Tuesday I found myself on a four-lane highway at 4:02 in the morning.  There were two cars ahead of me.  One in each lane.  There wasn’t another car as far as I could see in front of them, behind me, or in the opposing two lanes.  Yet these two cars are so spaced that I can’t pass.  It’s 4:02 in the morning and I’m on a four-lane road and I can’t pass because two people are side-by-side on the highway and they don’t speed up or slow down so I can get by. 

Julie says people no longer are even aware that that are unaware of the needs of others.  It’s not that they don’t care, but they don’t even know they should be aware of others.  Life is about them and they’ll notice you if they need something.  She says she finds this consistently in the grocery store where someone will put their cart in the middle of the aisle with no thought or concern that other people might or will need to get by. 

As I was following behind those cars I spoke openly to God saying, "I can't believe they do not have the courtesy to see that I am here.  There is only two people on the road and I am stuck behind them."  To my surprise, God answered with "I created a whole world and put only two people in it and look what they did."  Yes, my mind was blown.  Suddenly I saw how His comment pointed out to me that all men, from the first two to these two in front of me are sinful.  The when doesn't matter.  As I backed many car lengths away from the car ahead of me, I contemplated how my own sin was affecting the drivers ahead of me.  Here I was, thinking about me as much as they were thinking only of them.

It seems we have so lost our way as a culture that we have bypassed looking out for the needs of others first to simply living for ourselves and the needs of others doesn’t exist.  How opposite this is to the teaching of Jesus who came solely as a service for the benefit of others.  The single benefit to Jesus is that He did the will of the Father.  I also believe He is joyful when any person chooses to believe in Him and the desires of their heart follow His heart.  I should also be sensitive to how my own sinful nature can be unserving to others even when they are wallowing in their own sin.

 If we want to show ourselves as a peculiar people, an obvious way is to be kind and conscious about what the needs are of those around us and looking for ways to serve them, even if it is only making a way for them to pass us on the road or get by us at the grocery store.

Look around.  What are the real needs of those around you?  Does someone need an encouraging word?  Does someone need a friend?  Does someone need …?  Find a way to do what they are unwilling to ask for and in so doing show the love of Christ to them today.