To live is Christ

What does it mean to serve without expecting anything in return? As we call ourselves Christians, literally "little Christ," we should be modeling the behavior of Christ. We see in Mark 10:45 just what Jesus had to say about service, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus left his heavenly throne to serve us and that is mind-boggling. But that he served us even to the point of dying on the cross for us is nearly incomprehensible.

We see this played out in the life of Paul. In Philippians 1:20-21 we see Paul's answer to life, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." But how do we make this practical in our everyday lives? You can't die for others every day. So what does that mean? Or how can we live out Paul's words, "To live is Christ and to die is gain?"

The answer seems simple but in practice is difficult. We simply put others before ourselves, dying to our own desires.

This could be as simple as letting others go before you or perhaps sacrificing your time to pour into someone's life who may need ministry or love. This could be an abandoned child, an elderly parent or a stranger in need of care. This doesn't always mean letting everyone into your home permanently. Instead, it could be something like meeting regularly to care for them. In the family, even mothers and fathers should be willing to lay down their own wants and desires for what is best for their family. I could go on with more examples but I think you get the point.

After looking at these verses, I would ask again, what does it mean to serve without expecting anything in return?

Towards the end of the book of Philippians, Paul leaves his readers with this, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

We are called to live like Christ and this is contrary to what the world teaches. The world tells you to always focus on yourself and put your needs above everyone else's. In this way we are called to live in this world but not to live like the world.

Our call to live as Christ is to live contrary to what the world teaches. So dear reader, I will leave you with this: The answer to the question about what it means to serve is to live as Christ and not as the world, to die to oneself and to press on toward the upward call of Christ Jesus our Lord.