We Live to Serve Others

“For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.” 

2 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV, 1984) 

During His life on earth, Jesus was always thinking of others. As He told us, He came not to be served, but to serve. And He carried that determination all the way to His cross. There He was, in the midst of unspeakable agony, thinking of others—His executioners, His mother, even the criminal crucified next to Him. This example hits home for those of us who feel too sick, too disabled, or too weak to be thinking about others or caring for their needs. May it never be!  

In today’s Scripture, we read, “For to be sure, [Jesus] was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.” Yes, you may be weak. You may be elderly or disabled. But like Jesus, we live by God’s power. And we live with Him in order to serve others. 

Lord Jesus, no one ever had a greater mission and urgency than You, and Your time on earth was brief. And yet somehow You always had time for people who needed You—children, prostitutes, religious leaders, people with leprosy, tax collectors. You were drawn to needs, to hungry hearts. Today, draw me out of myself and my own worries and difficulties to see people as You do.