What if you wanted to follow Jesus by modeling a life of selfless service? What does selfless service look like in everyday life?
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus explained that His followers would be known by their service toward others – they would feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, show hospitality to strangers, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.
Feed the Hungry.
You may be surprised who struggles to have enough food for themselves or their families. Most likely, you live unaware that people around you suffer from food insecurity and food deficits in the amounts and quality of food they eat. Food banks and food ministries exist where you can donate food for distribution. You can volunteer to sort and stock food, cook and serve meals, and prepare and deliver food to people in your community who are homebound or need transportation. What could you do to feed the hungry in your community?
Give Water to the Thirsty.
You may take clean water for granted because most developed nations provide access to clean water. But according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 9% of the world’s population (1.2 billion people around the globe) do not have access to clean drinking water. Most of these people live in developing countries and rural areas. What could you do to provide clean water to the thirsty?
Show Hospitality.
Depending on where you live, you may have people in your community – neighbors, strangers, or family – that would benefit from your hospitality. Hospitality does not have to be complicated. You determine the most appropriate way to show genuine kindness and God’s love toward someone else. For example, you could listen and pray for someone while sharing a cup of coffee. You could provide a helpful resource that addresses another person’s need or invite people into your home to receive care and comfort in a time of loss. People have emotional, relational, physical, or spiritual needs. You demonstrate hospitality by seeking to meet others’ needs in ways that help them experience the love of God through your actions and attitude. So, don’t make hospitality about you or what you provide, but rather make hospitality about the other person and showing God’s love. What could you do to show hospitality toward others in your community?
Clothe the Naked.
You may have lots of clothing or just a few, but clothing is needed for all sorts of life circumstances. For example, a person seeking employment needs something appropriate to wear for the job interview. Or individuals who have jobs could need clothing conducive to their safety and well-being at work. Others may need clothing for warmth because they are essentially “naked” and exposed to harsh weather. The circumstances could be different for each person. Still, the issue is the same, do they have the clothing they need for their circumstances? What could you do to help clothe individuals in your community?
Visit the Sick.
You may know of people who are suffering from sickness. When someone is sick, they could be experiencing all sorts of physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual struggles, so visiting them could be used by God to bring them much-needed comfort. The primary reason to visit the sick is to focus on their well-being, so before you visit, make sure you pray and prepare to keep your conversation, thoughts, and actions focused on providing comfort for the sick. Whom could you visit who is sick and in need of God’s comfort?
Visit the Imprisoned.
You may have jails or prisons in your area and prison ministries that actively visit those imprisoned for which you could volunteer to serve. You could also serve through Courage For Life by volunteering to facilitate a Courage For My Life discipleship class in your local jail or prison. Courage For Life provides emotional health and spiritual growth resources at no cost to the prisons or incarcerated individuals and trains volunteers to facilitate discipleship classes in prisons. We also partner with other Christian nonprofit organizations to distribute our digital and print resources to help inmates grow in their relationship with God and others. Are you willing to visit the imprisoned?
Click here to learn more about serving as a volunteer to facilitate Courage For My Life discipleship classes in your local jail or state prisons. For more information about donating funds to Courage For Life to support providing emotional health and spiritual growth resources to incarcerated individuals, click here.
Watch the LIVE REPLAY to hear what serving others could look like in everyday life. Join us LIVE every Monday at 3 p.m. ET on @GodGivesCourage Instagram for our Spiritual Growth Series and check back here on Tuesdays for the companion blog post.
