Goal? Serve God
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. "And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:42-45)
Greetings fellow followers!
Tis the season for planning; looking ahead; setting goals; dreaming big; blah, blah, blah! Why is there such a desire to be great or do something great “this year”. Honestly, we never know what the next day holds for us. I can think of three people, who in the last month, never got to see 2026… for it was their ‘last month’. I can think of too many whose 2026 will be a year of trial and pain as they battle cancer, the effects of chemotherapy, financial loss, heartache, marital breakup, etc. The Bible is full of laments on the difficulty of life on earth:
Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (James 4:13-14).
The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away (Psa. 90:10)
Do we live for God or does He live for us? "What does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deut. 10:12). “Love God with all that we are and have, and love our neighbor as ourselves” (Matt. 22:36-40) – how do these two commands that sum up the whole Law merge into one? Jesus modeled it for us: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends (John 15:13). Do we have faith? Do we have love? “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6). How well did we do in 2025 with serving in love? How well are we going to do in 2026? That’s up to us. The only true response to so great a love as Christ giving up His life for us, His friends, is to offer up our life in service to Him: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). The Christian life is a life surrendered to the Master for His use. If there is one resolution to have for 2026, according to scripture, it would be that I would be the best servant I could be – no longer living for my own desires but for His. I can’t serve two masters; I must choose between me and God – I must decrease, so He can increase. I have been saved to serve Him…not the other way around.
What is my goal for 2026? To be the best servant I can to my King. That means it is not my will, but His that matters. I live for His glory – to bring Him glory (1Cor. 10:31). I am reminded of the parables of Jesus where the Master will return expecting to find His servants faithful to the expectations He had put on them – to use what had been given them to bring increase to the kingdom. “Well done good and faithful servant” says the Master. The King is returning and He is looking for faithfulness: “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. " Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? "Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing” (Matt. 24:44-46).
Serving is costly, even painful. The good news is that anyone can serve the Master, no matter our physical or emotional condition. Whether it is in prayer, with our finances, with our physical hands and feet - We can all serve with the ‘talents’ and abilities God has given us. And it must all be done for His name sake, not our own (Col. 3:17). I had a vivid illustration of this last night. We had freezing rain most of the day yesterday, well into the night. Outside my window is a large Japanese red maple tree. It was completely bent over from the weight of the ice on its branches, within inches of the ground. The strain it must have been under…near the breaking point! A few feet away is a streetlight, and it also happens to be the tree in which we put our Christmas lights. I cannot describe the beauty of the shimmering lights reflected off the frozen branches, other than to say, “magnificent!” Creation declaring the glory of the Lord! That tree could not have reflected that ‘glory’ without enduring the weight of that ice on it, almost to the breaking point. Friends, setting a goal for 2026 of serving to the glory of God may put a lot of strain on us…but the rewards far outweigh the cost, if even one soul comes into the kingdom through our service, it will all have been worth the pain. Think of our Lord who served even unto death – our King became servant of all, to bring many sons and daughters to glory! No greater love; no greater service. We have a good example to follow.
A Prosperous 2026 to you all! (3John 1:2)
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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