Some people would see serving others as an obligation or a burden at best and as a curse at worst. Jesus demonstrated and taught that the opportunity to serve others is a privilege and a gift. In fact, Jesus saw serving others as His life’s mission and considered service as one of the top priorities of His life. Jesus built a life of service; one act of service built upon another until serving others became a way of life. How do you characterize your life? How do others characterize you? Spend the next weeks considering and then building a life of service. Consider the following as you do.
Franklin Roosevelt's closest adviser during much of his presidency was a man named Harry Hopkins. During World War II, when his influence with Roosevelt was at its peak, Hopkins held no official Cabinet position. Moreover, Hopkins's closeness to Roosevelt caused many to regard him as a shadowy, sinister figure. As a result he was a major political liability to the President. Apolitical foe once asked Roosevelt, "Why do you keep Hopkins so close to you? You surely realize that people distrust him and resent his influence." Roosevelt replied, "Someday you may well be sitting here where I am now as President of the United States. And when you are, you'll be looking at that door over there and knowing that practically everybody who walks through it wants something out of you. You'll learn what a lonely job this is, and you'll discover the need for somebody like Harry Hopkins, who asks for nothing except to serve you." Winston Churchill rated Hopkins as one of the half-dozen most powerful men in the world in the early 1940s. And the sole source of Hopkins's power was his willingness to serve.
Discipleship Journal, Issue 39 (1987), p. 5.
Called to Serve,
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