O'child, I'm only asking you for your life.

So lately I've been pondercating the meaning of the word "servant." What is a servant? How does one serve? How do you know you're serving with the right heart?

When we think servant we usually think a waitress at the local Huddle House, or the man who changes your oil. However, when we think of servant, a picture of our best friend, our mom, our Sunday school teacher, or Jesus should come to mind. But most importantly, we should think servant and picture ourselves. Way too often we put the title on others. We say that other people aren't "having a servants heart" when they don't do exactly what we want them to do when we want them to do it. We think that people aren't being "humble" and "serving us" when we think we need something done. But most of the time, when we find something wrong in other people, it's prominent in ourselves. We hold some of the faults that we find so repulsive.

Tonight I'm staying with Courtney. When we finished eating dinner I wanted to clean some dishes so her mom didn't have to. After that, I wanted to clean the coffee pot. That lead to wiping off the tables, making tea, and organizing stacks of mail. I'm not saying all of this to brag... I'm saying it to make a point. I did not go into Courtney's house with the idea "ugh, I guess I should do something nice for these people." Instead, as I began doing things so her mom wouldn't have to, I WANTED to do more. I love her and her family so much that I want to do things for them. I want to take a load off of their shoulders and make life easier on them in the best way I can. THAT is being a servant. Doing something because you want to and because you love someone. Many people think that making yourself cut grass on a hot day when you would rather be watching TV in an air conditioned room is servant-hood. Wrong. That does not come from the right heart. God wants us to do things out of love and in a caring manner. If you do something because you think you have to, there is no will involved. It's more of a chore, more of a burden, than a blessing. But God showed me tonight what true servant-hood is. And I was so happy... so excited... so full of joy. I loved helping out; I loved being able to do something for my friends. And like I said, this totally isn't a bragging blog... it is meant to be a blog of encouragement. I encourage all of you to go and serve others. Not necessarily clean, but do something for other people. Put others before yourself. Like the acronym - JOY - Jesus, others, yourself.

The title of the blog may seem a little random... but it's not. It's God's cry to us. Oh, child, I'm only asking you for your life. That's all He wants. He just wants our lives. He loved us enough to die for us, how about lets love Him enough to live for Him. And what better way to do that than to serve others, and in turn, serve Him!