“Do you need anything before I head over to the church? I need to mow the lawn.”

Daniel glanced up from his college application to find Dad leaning on the doorframe of his room. “Why do you do that?”

Dad’s brow furrowed. “Do what? Mow the lawn at church? Because it needs it.”

“Yeah, but surely someone else could do it. You’re an elder in the church. You shouldn’t be wasting your time doing stuff like that. I certainly wouldn’t put that kind of thing on my college application.” Daniel pointed to the computer. A list of his accomplishments filled the screen. Senior class president, Head of the student council, Editor in chief of the school paper… All titles of prestige.

Dad entered the room and peered at the computer screen. “I’m glad you have such strong ambition and leadership skills. But to be honest, if I were an admissions counselor, I’d feel a lot better about admitting you to my college if I saw some acts of service.”

Daniel frowned. “Really? Why?”

“Because nothing is more important. Do you think you’re better than Jesus?”

“What? No! Jesus was a leader. Tons of people followed Him.”

Dad took a seat on the edge of Daniel’s bed. “Ahh, but not because He asked them to. People were naturally drawn to Him because He was a servant. Don’t you remember the night of the last supper? Jesus washed all the disciples’ feet. Even Judas’s. He knew he would betray Him, but He washed his feet anyway.”

Daniel squirmed in his computer chair. “I don’t think God is calling me to wash anyone’s feet. Do you think I should do some service projects to beef up my application?”

Dad sighed. “No. That’s not the point. You don’t serve in order to look good or to get recognition.”

“Then why do you do it?”

Dad crossed his legs and leaned back. “It’s natural for us to want our lives to matter – to be important. There’s nothing wrong with that, but that’s not why God made us. God made us to serve. There are so many benefits to serving. First, it helps us discover and develop the gifts God gave us.”

Daniel bit his lip. “So is your gift mowing the lawn?”

Dad laughed. “Maybe. I love being outside, and I am pretty precise in my rows. Plus, I do the edging and tend to the flower beds once I’m finished.”

“The landscaping does always look nice at church, so maybe that is your gift.”

“I hope it’s more than that. But, sure, that’s one of them. But also, I work together with other people on the flower beds. Mr. Brown and Mr. Jimenez will both be there this afternoon. We’ll weed the beds together. I never would have gotten to know them if I didn’t volunteer to help. We’ve gotten to be good friends. They’ve given me some good counsel. Serving allows us to develop godly friendships.”

“OK, that’s two reasons,” Daniel said. “Learn your gifts and make friends.”

Dad rubbed his fingers across his forehead. “I feel like this is a challenge now. I’ll give you some more reasons. How about God tells us to? Obeying the Lord fills us with peace and satisfaction. There are a number of Bible verses that tell us to serve.” Dad’s face lit. “And here’s another. Serving helps us focus on others more than ourselves. By serving the less fortunate, it puts our own problems into perspective.”

Daniel shut off his computer screen and focused his full attention on Dad. “OK, I get it. Serving is important. But I hate mowing the lawn and weeding. Do I have to do that to get all the benefits you just listed?”

“Of course not. Everyone’s service looks different. You’re not an outdoors guy. That’s fine. But you’re an amazing writer. There’s a ministry at church for sending encouraging letters to missionaries. I bet you’d be good at that.”

A glimmer of excitement lit in Daniel, then fizzled. “Yeah, that would be really cool, especially if they wrote back, but what do I know about missionary work? I can write articles for the paper and my own stories, but I might be really bad at writing letters.”

Dad rose and clapped Daniel on the shoulder. “That’s the beauty of working for God. If He calls you to do something, He’ll equip you to do it. How did you feel when I suggested that? Be honest now.”

Daniel shrugged. “Actually, kind of excited.”

“Then do it. Check out the church website and look at the list of missionaries. Try composing a message to whichever missionary speaks to your heart, and see how it turns out.” Dad headed to the door and turned around. “The weeds are calling me. I’ll check in with you later.”

Daniel sat in silence for a long moment, then turned on the monitor and clicked on the church website. Maybe there was something to this serving idea after all.

Matthew 25:35-40 – “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

1 Peter 4:10-11 – “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

Mark 10:45 – “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Galatians 5:13 – “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.”

Ephesians 6:7-8 – “Rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.”

Lord, You have called us to serve others. Please help us to remember how important that is. You showed us the example of serving others with love. You humbled Yourself to come down from heaven and be born in a feeding trough, serving the poor, the lame, the blind, the lepers. Help us to be more like You and help us identify the gifts You’ve given us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.