Matthew 20:28

Original Artwork by lovethatletters, Jenn Cruz

I was so excited when I heard we get to talk about our favorite verse. At the same time I knew that this also going to be difficult because there are so many awesome verses (like all of them?!). I thought, well I can just choose my life verse and call it a day, but that would have been too easy. So the verse I chose is Matthew 20:28. It says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I remember back in the day I used to think that going to church meant being served all the time. Of course, growing up you would think that because you’re young and you typically didn’t serve in a huge capacity. Routine was go to church, attend sunday school, then children’s church and then go home. As you I got older (teenage years) it was pretty much the same thing - go to church, attend sunday school, go to the main service (because I was an “adult”) and go home afterwards. Eventually I would find myself serving, whether it was singing or playing on the praise team. However, I didn’t fully comprehend what serving truly was about. Yeah, I would have teachers/mentors who would encourage me to be a part of church, or tell me the dreaded “you have to serve at church or else” line. But I did find myself serving in different capacities. Then came the moment of leaving my home church and finding another church to attend. I remember when my mom decided to leave our old home church a part of me was thinking in my head, “ok I hope this new place has this, or has that. Oh but i really hope the message isn’t too long or they don’t have this or that”. I’m sure some of you out there have had those thoughts before, but for me, and I’m going to be totally transparent, were thoughts that I would have as an adult whenever it came to attending a church or even helping out a church if I was asked to help serve there. I know, it sounds pretty selfish and has that “I’m great and mighty, so serve me this way” mentality, but I carried it for a good portion of my life. I was basically asking “What can this church do for me?”

Then one day a close friend of mine said something to me during a time when I was having some struggles with church. He said straight up, “remember you go to church to serve, not to be served.” After hearing that, I felt like I was knocked out by heavy weight boxer! It hit me really hard and made me really seek wisdom and discernment from God, which is where I came across the verse in Matthew about coming to this earth to serve and not to be served. Till this day, God constantly is reminding me about serving because that verse in Matthew pops up every so often and just last week He lead me again to Matthew 20:28. Ever since that day of talking with my friend and coming across that verse, my understanding of serving, whether it’s at a church or in a ministry or organization has completely flipped 180. I’m coming to serve, whole-heartedly and with compassion.