Like Christ
Why do I always feel as though my life isn't my own? Someone always needs something from me. Friends and family need a listening ear. Housework beckons and is never done. I need to stop what I'm enjoying to fix a timely meal. You know how it goes.
And it is nice to be needed. Just as any mother knows, hearing "Mommy" this and "Mommy" that often wears on her nerves, yet she wouldn't have it any other way. And it's nice to know that someone values your advice or your time or your efforts. But, sometimes...
Just why do I think my life should be my own? The truth of the matter is, my life is not my own. First, I belong to God. "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). And because I belong to Him, I am "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29, ESV).
Jesus Himself said that "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve" (Matthew 20:28 ESV). And Philippians 2:7 tells us that He took on the "form of a servant".
Can't you just picture Christ, followed by crowds wherever He went? They came for healing; they came to see His miracles; they came to be fed, spiritually and/or physically. He had the woman grasping the hem of His garment to be healed. He even had the Roman Centurion seeking him out to heal his servant. Jesus had to be weary, but He kept going.
Mark tells of when Jesus, James and John went to Simon Peter's home where Peter's mother-in-law was ill with a fever until Jesus healed her. Then, after sundown, Mark says, "the whole city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons" (Mark 1:33, 34, ESV, emphasis mine).
Can you imagine the crowds? And they began coming after sundown! I'm sure they were a noisy bunch, calling out for His attention, seeking to be near this healer-teacher. And I can just picture them pushing forward, calling out, "Jesus, heal me"; "Jesus, heal my daughter", "Jesus" this and "Jesus" that. If He healed many and cast out many demons and didn't begin until after sundown, I'm assuming it was late before He laid His weary body down and succumbed to sleep.
Yet, Mark tells us that Jesus rose very early the next morning. In fact, so early that it was still dark. He slipped away from the house and found a desolate place where He could pray in privacy. Jesus, God incarnate, had to spend time communicating with His Father in Heaven. Jesus, the man, must have been physically exhausted, yet He rose early. His time with His Father was more important than His exhaustion.
Ouch! I complain because I feel like a servant. I complain because I'm too tired to pull myself out of bed for that quality time with my God. Where are my priorities? Can I even begin to emulate my Savior?
I say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30)!
And it is nice to be needed. Just as any mother knows, hearing "Mommy" this and "Mommy" that often wears on her nerves, yet she wouldn't have it any other way. And it's nice to know that someone values your advice or your time or your efforts. But, sometimes...
Just why do I think my life should be my own? The truth of the matter is, my life is not my own. First, I belong to God. "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). And because I belong to Him, I am "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29, ESV).
Jesus Himself said that "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve" (Matthew 20:28 ESV). And Philippians 2:7 tells us that He took on the "form of a servant".
Can't you just picture Christ, followed by crowds wherever He went? They came for healing; they came to see His miracles; they came to be fed, spiritually and/or physically. He had the woman grasping the hem of His garment to be healed. He even had the Roman Centurion seeking him out to heal his servant. Jesus had to be weary, but He kept going.
Mark tells of when Jesus, James and John went to Simon Peter's home where Peter's mother-in-law was ill with a fever until Jesus healed her. Then, after sundown, Mark says, "the whole city was gathered together at the door. And He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons" (Mark 1:33, 34, ESV, emphasis mine).
Can you imagine the crowds? And they began coming after sundown! I'm sure they were a noisy bunch, calling out for His attention, seeking to be near this healer-teacher. And I can just picture them pushing forward, calling out, "Jesus, heal me"; "Jesus, heal my daughter", "Jesus" this and "Jesus" that. If He healed many and cast out many demons and didn't begin until after sundown, I'm assuming it was late before He laid His weary body down and succumbed to sleep.
Yet, Mark tells us that Jesus rose very early the next morning. In fact, so early that it was still dark. He slipped away from the house and found a desolate place where He could pray in privacy. Jesus, God incarnate, had to spend time communicating with His Father in Heaven. Jesus, the man, must have been physically exhausted, yet He rose early. His time with His Father was more important than His exhaustion.
Ouch! I complain because I feel like a servant. I complain because I'm too tired to pull myself out of bed for that quality time with my God. Where are my priorities? Can I even begin to emulate my Savior?
I say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30)!
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