"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." 

John 13:14-15 NIV

What does it look like to serve others?  What does scripture have to say about serving? 

Jesus has given us 2 primary commands: 

Matthew 22:37-40 - “Jesus replied: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Jesus desires for us to love Him and He desires for us to love others by serving. Service will typically require us to go out of our comfort zones. It’s not easy! Jesus powerfully proclaims the urgency to serve in Matthew 20:26-28 - “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”.  

During Jesus’ time here on earth, He gave us a beautiful picture of what it looks like to serve by modeling it Himself.  Jesus served His disciples by washing their feet.  He then proceeded to explain to them, “If I, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example that you also should do just as I have done for you”, John 13:14,15.  Something pretty cool I noticed while searching for scripture……isn’t it symbolic how the numbers to these scriptures follow one another: 13,14, and 15 and Jesus is saying in these scriptures that we should follow His example!  In 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul writes, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again”. 

It’s such a blessing that we get to follow in Jesus’ footsteps by loving and serving others.  People are called to serve in different ways. Serving primarily involves moving toward people and meeting their needs in a way that brings glory to our Father in Heaven. I know for myself, I often fall into the trap of serving others in ways I want to be served.  I'm certainly a work in progress and pray as each year passes, by the grace of God, I look for opportunities to serve other people the way they need to be served.   During the season that’s upon us, a season of giving, let’s not forget one of Jesus’ most important commands, to serve one another.  It’s important that we seek to see people as Jesus does and love them well. 

How are you being led to serve and love others today?