[Love] does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; – 1 Corinthians 13:5
SHOW & TELL: We may not live what we say we believe, but we will inevitably live what we truly believe.
To truly understand the power of serving others, we must understand the root and motivation behind it. In Mark 10:43, Jesus is crystal clear about leadership and greatness. He said, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Just like a children’s classroom, we “show and tell” our willingness to love others to the degree that we naturally serve them. I walked to the front of my class as a fourth-grade boy carrying a rock that had been carved out of centuries of water falling in the Antarctic. It was a very cool “show and tell.” But that rock didn’t talk, serve, love or impact anybody. It didn’t call someone to action. It simply was a rock! But I do recall the first couple that I had the privilege of leading to Christ. I fell in love with a couple that knew nothing of Jesus and in a matter of twenty minutes, they went from knowing nothing of faith to inviting Jesus into their hearts. That’s a powerful “show and tell.” When we connect the verse above, we discover that as we love, we will serve. Service without love can be good, but service [because we love] is a powerful experience. This verse is talking about what love does. If we really love others, not just in words but in action, it will show. As a matter of fact, if we love the Divine, He will place plenty of opportunities to serve other folks and live as a leader, in His greatness. The “love passage” in 1 Corinthians, gives us a picture of what God’s kind of love looks like. It says that love does not behave rudely. That means you don’t treat others as less than you, or as though you are greater than them. It is perfectly apparent when we serve out of love, rather than duty. To serve out of love is the greatness of Christ working in and through us. And then this verse says that love is not provoked. That means that it doesn’t pop off in a fit of anger, or “lose it” with folks just because things don’t go your way. Finally, love thinks no evil. This means that you’re not thinking the worst about people. You don’t assume they’ve got an agenda or have a desire to hurt you in some way. I read a study, several years ago that claimed we find something wrong with others seven times before we find one thing we approve of. You see, we don’t serve others as a result of their need, we serve others because we are simply following the way of Jesus. Simply put, loving others means that we don’t just react or respond with what feels right at the moment. This takes some adjustment to our attitude., But if you really choose to serve others out of your love for the Divine and your love for others, you are truly great in the eyes of the Lord. Rather than just doing what feels good, you can learn to let the love of God that is in your heart come out. When you do, you’ll be a light for Jesus in ways you’ve only imagined!
– Choose to open your eyes and see how you can serve others today. – Choose to act and react out of love, rather than selfishness. – Choose to lead like Jesus and experience the blessing found in service.
