How can you and I stay on the path of serving God and serving other people when it’s so full of obstacles and pain and heartache? How can we serve like Jesus?

Well, you have to imagine waking up with the disciples one morning and looking for Jesus... You’ve looked all over town for him but he’s nowhere to be found. Where could he be? “There’s a small path that leads out of town, maybe he’s down there.” And sure enough, you come around a bend and there he is, just a stone’s throw off the path, sitting down in prayer. He hears you coming, “Jesus! Everyone’s been looking for you.” And he looks at you with those eyes of love and concern and he says with a twinkle in his eye, “Let’s go somewhere else.” Whatever else was on his mind, whatever prayer he was right in the middle of, it all gets put on hold because some people came to him who needed him. He served.

“Let’s go!” Do you sense the excitement Jesus had for his work? He wanted to get out there and reach the people with God’s message. He wanted to go someplace else, where he hadn’t been, where they hadn’t heard him preach yet, where there were sick people and hurt people to help, —more people that he could serve. Because that’s why he came, right? To serve and to serve and to serve…

…To serve where we couldn’t serve. To serve where you wouldn’t serve. To serve in ways you never dreamed. To serve in your place and offer to God the perfect service that you so very much want to do in your heart, but so very much know you can’t do. Many of us are so sincere in our service to God. So eager or at least we try our hardest. We’re so busy in our life but we just…can’t…do…it…all! But Jesus did. He saw you and he said to himself, “I want to go and serve where she can’t serve. I want to go and endure that challenge, that frustration, that hard work, that medical problem and endure it perfectly in their place.” He served and he served and he served.

He served you. Won't you serve him and each other?