To be a Christian, is to be a servant.  That is what we were called to be when we obeyed the gospel.  We were called to follow in the steps of Christ, the one who served in a greater way than anyone before or after Him.

Mark 10:42-45 (ESV)
⁴²  And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. ⁴³  But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴  and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵  For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Sometimes we miss opportunities to serve others that are right in front of us.  The church is filled with things to do and people to serve.  There is work to do in our public assemblies for faithful brethren.  There are weak members that need encouragement.  There are sick members that need visiting.  There are new members that need teaching.  There are working members that need help.  There are many opportunities to serve in the church, but it all begins with Christians realizing that we have been called, not to sit, but to serve.  We have been saved, not to be kings that sit in high places, but to be servants in the likeness of Christ,

God has blessed all of us with various talents and abilities, not just to possess and keep to ourselves, but to use to serve others.

1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:

Do you have a gift (talent)?  Peter said, “use  it.”  The abilities that God has given us by grace do not do any good unless we are willing to do something with them, and Peter tells us that it should begin with serving one another.

To serve as we should, we must suppress the selfishness within all of us.  The word suppress means to subdue or put down by force.  That is what it takes to defeat selfishness because it is a powerful characteristic that almost all human beings possess.  True servants learn to focus on others first.  When we get in a habit of putting ourselves first, we stop serving.  We need to remember Jesus, the greatest servant of all (Phil. 2:1-7).  At ver. 7, the NIV says, “He made Himself nothing.”  Why?  Because He was taking on the form of a servant.  If Jesus was willing to sacrifice so dramatically in order to serve others, we should be willing to do the same.

Luke 6:40 (ESV)
⁴⁰  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.

Are you following in the steps of the Savior?  If we are not actively engaged in the work of serving, we are falling short of the likeness of Christ.

Galatians 5:13 (ESV)
¹³  For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things