DEVOTION – DAY 578

Galatians 5:13 “Serving Humbly In Love

Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

The apostle Paul reminds us in the above verse that true Christian freedom does not mean we are free to sin and do as we wish. Instead, true Christian freedom is a freedom to serve God and one another humbly in love. There are some Christians who think that since their sins have been forgiven by Jesus Christ’s work on the cross, they can go ahead to sin some more. To do so would be to take for granted God’s gift of grace and doubts would be casted on that person’s understanding of his salvation. Instead, we have a license now to serve God and fellow Christians humbly in love.

What does this mean? We know Christians who are willing to serve the Lord without any expectation of recognition, praise or reward. All we need to do is to ask them to help. Sometimes, they even offer without our need to ask because they see that help is required. They are willing to serve because they know that they are building God’s kingdom here on earth. Such people are also willing to serve others humbly – even though it involves serving people that are poor, disadvantaged, disabled, or just lacking in higher education. They serve others without fuss or fanfare. Their motivation is to show brotherly love to fellow Christians in need. Just as Christ loved us unconditionally, we are to love others in the same way.

We know someone who is a Canadian citizen. She was single and she came to Malaysia to teach. Whilst here, she actively served in church and wherever she saw the need. She had a heart to teach children. When her contract ended in Malaysia, we helped her connect with an organization that’s ends missionaries to Africa. Today, she is teaching in a school in Rwanda, laying a Christian foundation in the hearts of the Rwandan children. She does this without fanfare or expects any recognition. She is doing this out of love for God and the God’s people.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for redeeming us from our bondage to sin and that you have set us free to serve you and others out of our love for you, and for one another. Please help us to serve humbly in love always. We pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. Have you been giving in to the sins of the flesh? If so, will you resist because you have not been freed to indulge in the flesh but to serve the Lord and others?
  2. How have you been serving the Lord and others lately?
  3. What does serving the Lord and others humbly in love mean to you? How have you been doing so?
  4. Why is humility important in serving the Lord and others? Discuss.