“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”  -Proverbs 22:6

Why Serve Others?

Serving others in need is what we are commanded by God to do.  Serving as families and teaching our children this virtue is what we are called as parents to do.  We read in Colossians that as we serve others it is really Christ we are serving.  Do we take the time to really ‘see’ Jesus in the face of the person we’re serving?  Do we recognize that he is at the heart of what we’re doing?

Serving is kind of like Christmas – it is fun to get together with other Christians and serve, there’s activity involved, it feels good.  But we can make the mistake that just like Christmas we can forget that Jesus is at the heart of it, that it is something that we should continue to do all through the year.  Serving ought to be a daily lifestyle, not just focused on events a couple times a year.

In order to make serving a lifestyle we need to get involved regularly.  Any ministry can only survive with ongoing year-round volunteer help.  We have to be the church outside of the 4 walls – Be the church in our homes, work place and communities.  We need to cultivate this lifestyle in our family – our children need to see it and they can be involved too.

Our Family

I would like to share one simple way our family has served together year after year.  It has been great for our family to participate in an annual community event called Relay for Life.  We camp out together and walk a relay (all night long) to raise money to support a cure for cancer.  Cancer  is something that has plagued our family for generations.  Teaching our boys about this disease and how God is our ultimate healer has been a blessing.  Talking to cancer survivors and praying withe those currently in the battle has really brought home how others sometimes suffer.

Our kids have been a part of the body of believers in making a difference in the lives of others.  This has been one great way to teach our children about the needs of others, to give them an active role in serving and a reminder of how blessed we are.

Serving takes the focus off of us and makes us think of others.  As we continue as a family to seek ways to get involved in serving outside the walls of the church building our prayer is that our children grow up in that lifestyle and be a part of what God is doing in the real world.