Mar 31 - 1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift,

use it to serve one another,

as good stewards of

God's varied grace

1 Peter 4:10

^ESV

 

Last night, I was vacuuming. It's my Tuesday night job. Before the Bible Study comes over, I vacuum, change the kitty litter, and wheel the trash down to the road.

 

But yesterday as I was vacuuming, Mary Louise came in with her hands black. I didn't know it, but she'd gone outside to split one last log for one last fire on one last wintery evening of the season.

 

"I'll trade you,” she said, out of breath and shivering. “I'll do the vacuuming, if you'll split this impossible log."

 

Acts of Service. We each do our part.

 

Marriage isn’t 50-50, as some people think. It’s 100-100. And whenever I’ve looked for fairness – in terms of jobs, responsibilities, service, and load – I’m needy, whiny, picky, self-righteous, and frustrated.

 

There’s a much better model for marriage than that. And indeed, my father taught it to me.

 

When I was a teen, my mother started the Hospice in our hometown of Wilmington, NC. It was a big ministry with a small budget, and my father became her chief volunteer. (Acts of Service.) He’d drive with her. Set up her office. Work on fundraisers. Go to meetings. He understood that whatever was needed blessed our whole family.

 

He even built a large shed in our backyard. Why? To house old, donated hospital beds.

 

Many nights around the dinner table, he’d say, “We’re going to deliver a hospital bed tonight.”

 

I’d whine and complain. “But I had plans!” My plans usually consisted of playing basketball and watching TV. He’d shrug his shoulders, which meant two things. “1) This is what families do, and … 2) There’s no argument. You’re going.”

 

I saw delivering hospital beds as a duty. Thus, my attitude was bad.

 

My dad saw it as an Act of Service. It’s his Love Language. His attitude is “can do.” He is a “good steward[ ] of God’s varied grace”!

 

Sometimes, we’d deliver one of these massive, cumbersome beds one evening, and then pick it up the next. (The death had occurred that quick.) And my dad’s service blessed my mom, our community, and especially a broken family in the midst of crisis.

 

My dad’s service also blessed our own little family. When I finally escaped my teenage sullenness and selfishness, I began to understand and appreciate my father’s heart and compassion. It’s become his greatest legacy to me. Now, I’m a doer. I’m a servant. It’s not my natural character. It’s a reflection of my father. Indeed, Acts of Service is now my primary Love Language.

 

Question: Do you see service as a duty … or a joy? And as a result, what’s your attitude when tasks arise? What do you need to do to sew a spirit of service more deeply into your life?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who remembers

a moment of need

in my own family’s life,

dad volunteered to help,

but I didn’t want to burden him

with my problems,

until my mom said,

“Ed, you know nothing makes

your father happier than

helping other people.”

A guy who want to be that guy!