Day 18: Matthew 6-9

“Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, ‘Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.’” (Matthew 8:19-20, NLT)

When my kids were in junior high and high school, they spent a week each summer participating in missions projects--doing home repairs or running a VBS for local children.

One year in particular stands out. My daughter loved on those kids with abandon—hugging them, giving piggyback rides—you name it, she was a part of it. And they responded in kind. Oh, how they loved her.

But she brought home a unique reminder of her service there. Lice.

It took a few days before we realized it. I was angry at first. But as we began the process of combing out the critters, I realized this was a small thing. My daughter gave her heart to those kids, sharing the love of Jesus with them. She didn’t think about what might go wrong while she was there. If she had, her love would not have been genuine. She simply gave it all away without thought of herself.

Serving Christ is not about fame or recognition. Serving Christ is about sacrifice and self-denial.

When we serve sacrificially, our basic needs are limited so that someone else’s needs are met.

Our kids may wear the same jeans this school year so that someone else can have at least one pair. We serve others when we are physically or emotionally wasted. What we need is rest, but someone else needs our heart and our time. Because we sacrificed, we may have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch instead of freshly sliced deli meat.

Or, because we spend time with someone in need, it’s possible we’ll bring home a cold or the flu—or something else undesirable. But we serve out of love.

We see a need and respond. God sees, too. He knows the price we pay, and He will honor our service to Him.

-Dianne