Jesus was the living, breathing, walking embodiment of servant leadership. All throughout the Gospels, he models for us what it means to humble ourselves in a position of servanthood in order to minister to others. As Christ followers, we shouldn’t just be willing to serve those around us; we should strive to serve those around us in hopes that they’ll be impacted spiritually themselves and inspired to do the same for others.

Have you ever done something because you were motivated out of guilt? God doesn’t want that from us — He wants our hearts to be motivated out of our love for Him. When we do things out of obligation, we only end up burned out and resentful, but when we serve out of a genuine heart of love and gratitude for Him, then we’ll be in it for the long haul and we’ll do it with an attitude of joy.

Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would ultimately betray Him one day. Yet He still allowed him to get close, and served him to the very end. The devil knew he couldn’t get into Jesus, so he got as close as possible — yet even in that, Jesus gave us the ultimate example of what it means to love and serve our greatest enemies.

We’re reminded every day when we look at God’s creation of the beautiful and extravagant ways that He serves us and shows His love for us. But there’s no greater example of His servant heart than the saving power of what Jesus did for us on the cross. When we’ve experienced the fullness of His love and His sacrifice, we’ll follow Him in serving the people He places around us.

When you do something nice for another person, are you doing it to please God, or to prove something to the world? Our Father doesn’t want our religious good deeds; He wants action that flows out of a heart that’s in genuine relationship with Him. When we’re walking in step with the Lord, it’s evident in our relationships with the people He’s placed around us and called us to serve.

It’s easier to be served than it is to serve. But God’s called us all to be servants, not only to Him, but to each other. Having faith in Jesus should lead to an attitude of obedience and a heart of service. We were put here not only to be His hands and His feet, but to be His eyes and His ears — to see people for who they really are, and to listen to their stories.

There’s a saying that goes, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” And while that might sound like a bit of a cliché, there’s truth in those words! We serve a God who came down in person to live and love among us here on earth before He ultimately died for our sins. In the same way, people feel valued when we show up in their lives, in person, to journey with them through life’s ups and downs — and when we do that, it opens the door for us to share God’s love with them.

God has no limits to what He can do! And yet He chooses, in His infinite glory and grace, to love us just as we are. When we make the choice to follow Jesus, He takes us beyond our own human limits to serve and love others — even those the world might deem undeserving, unworthy, or unlovable.

We can never hear this message too many times: you and I can’t fix broken people! But we can lead them to the only One who can. The devil’s whole purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. It’s our job as Christians to look out for “wreckers” who are vulnerable to his attacks and in need of healing from their brokenness, and bring them to the feet of the Father so He can do the fixing.

“Me, me, me.” Our world has devolved to such a level of “Vanity Plate Think” (self centeredness, narcissism, and an ultimate “looking out for #1″ mindset)… However, just as Jesus so perfectly modeled (“The Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” -Matthew 20:28), are we then, as Christ followers, living to be served, or to serve?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever thanked God for blessing you — and then continued on with your day without taking the time to look around and see how you can share that blessing with someone else. Whether intentionally or not, we’re sometimes blinded to the needs of others, or reluctant to follow through in meeting those needs when we see them. But as the Body of Christ, we’re called to serve others no matter how it might “inconvenience” us, and to ask God to give us eyes to see those people the way He sees them.