What is your mindset today? Most of us do all we can to avoid any kind of suffering, hardship, or even, let's be honest, discomfort. This last Sunday, we talked about how living for Jesus means we live in the family of God. As a family member of God's family, I am called repeatedly in scripture to live my life intentionally aimed toward loving my brother and sisters in Jesus Christ by encouraging them and serving them. That's right, becoming a follower of Jesus and going to church isn't about Jesus and others in the church serving me.
Yes, Jesus did serve me by taking my place on the cross and dying for my sin. But as I follow Him, my relationship with Him is about me serving Jesus because HE is God, not me. I'm the servant, and He is Lord. I feel many of us in our day who follow Jesus Christ don't like this idea that our lives, now in Jesus Christ, are to be lived serving Him. And in serving Him, the Word of God is clear I am to be serving others. This means serving, encouraging, helping, and giving up my life and time to love on my fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. And then serving the people whom God puts in my life. I am to give up my life and serve in Jesus' name those who are lost and who need to hear about Jesus. We are called to do this so that they can see Jesus' love poured out into their lives by how we, God's children, love and serve them.
But serving others means we have to sacrifice our time, our comfort, and our own lives. That, for us in this day, is seen as an act of suffering. Think about what kind of feelings and thoughts you have associated with serving others. Let us be honest; being a servant to others and doing what is best for them at the expense of our desires and wishes does not sound like fun. In fact, most of us do so very little serving even though we are Christians because giving up our time, our wishes, our wants and spending our lives doing stuff for others' benefit and our discomfort isn't at all what we want. But that is what we are called to.
That battle, the struggle, then in living our lives serving others in Jesus' name and with His love is not found in trying to figure out how we can help and serve. No, pretending we just don't know whom to serve and how to serve others might be the excuse we use often. But let's be honest, that's just an excuse we use so we don't have to serve. No, the real battle when it comes to serving others in Jesus' name is found in our own selfish hearts. Using my time, money, energy, and resources to serve others when I could be doing the things I want to do is where the battle is really at. Most of us would call serving others at our own expense akin to suffering.
It's time for us as believers in Jesus Christ to Arm ourselves.
1 Peter 4:1-2
4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
We are to arm ourselves with the same attitude as Christ Jesus had. I love the word Peter uses here, Arm. It's a military word. It's serious and intentional. We should not only be willing to be inconvenienced, but we should be willing to even suffer for the purposes of God. And even more, we should not just be willing but intentionally active in aiming to serve others even at a significant cost to ourselves. That is the attitude of Jesus Christ. And He did for you, and I. He truly suffered and died on the cross for our sins as He put the will of the Father before His own. His words, "Not my will but yours be done," prayed to God the Father, were at the heart of His attitude to serve others and do the will of the Father despite the suffering He would endure.
So, as a follower of Jesus Christ, can you say today that you are Armed like you should be? Have you consciously armed yourself with the heart and attitude of Christ Jesus today? If you have not, or maybe have not, in a long time, I will encourage you to pray and repent for being a follower of Jesus who has a selfish heart. Living for Jesus yet carrying around a self-focused and self-pleasing heart is somewhat of a contradiction. Being a follower of Jesus who lives for yourself is a contradiction. This is why we must arm ourselves with the attitude of Christ Jesus and as we are called to live our lives for others, showing them and sharing with them the love, truth, the kindness of our Lord and Saviour. We no longer pursue and live for ourselves and our earthy and selfish desires, but rather being armed with Jesus' attitude, we live to serve others with Jesus' love and in His name. We live not for ourselves but live to do the will of God, even if we are called to suffer.
1 Peter 4:7-11
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
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