We’ve got your daily encouragement, written by Travis Pate.
Bible Reading:
Mark 9:35-37
“And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ‘If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.’”
Word:
The disciples had been arguing about who was the best among them when Jesus sat them down for lesson time. There are two things that I think we can take out of this lesson.
First, in order to love others, which we are commanded to do, we must serve. He must give our time, energy, and efforts to someone other than ourselves. There are many ways that we can serve others. I always like to say, “see a need, meet a need.” When you see someone who has a need, do something for them to help meet their need. This is loving others.
The second lesson here is that he uses a child to illustrate his point. Children were often looked at as “not important” in society at the time. Jesus is showing his disciples that all people are important, even the seemingly insignificant.
We can contrast this with another story about serving, The Good Samaritan. The Samaritan sees someone injured and in need on the side of road and, without worrying about the fact that Samaritans and Jews did not associate with one another, he stops to help.
There is no person too small or insignificant in the eyes of Jesus. There is no one greater than one who serves another.
Prayer:
Father God, I pray that I might see the world as you see it. That you would open my eyes to see people in need and give me the courage to step out and be a person who is known for meeting needs. Help me to bless others through you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Skillwork:
Find one thing this week that you can do to serve others. Maybe it’s offering a word of encouragement. Maybe it’s sending a note to a friend who has lost a loved one. Nothing and no one is too small or insignificant!
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