No service may be rendered to us by the rendering of our own service. We can hardly hold open a person's door out of the hope that it changes their lives. Nor can we even feed the hungry in the hopes that they might remember the face and name of the ones who offered them food. And no, we can't do anything because maybe, just maybe, we’ll get mentioned on someone’s blog (let’s face it: it probably won’t happen, and if it does, we’ll never know it).
But perhaps—just maybe—the question is not of why I serve another. Not even of why I should want to do it. Perhaps, first and foremost, the question is of how I serve my God.
“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. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:14-17)
I said that How was important. But Jesus gave us something more. He gave us, precious gift that it is, a Why.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." – John 13:34-35
And so it is that, even in seeking to evade myself with a How and Why that comes from Him, it drives me ever back to... me. Yet in doing so, it drives me back to Him after all. For I am called to serve, no longer as a fragile reflection of myself; but instead, brighter and brighter,
ever as a reflection of Him.
(To be continued…)
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