When my husband and I first got married, I dreamed about our first home being filled with people, seeing every chair occupied, watching our wedding registry gifts actually get used, and sharing meals and laughter around our dark wooden table. I wanted our home to be marked by hospitality, where conversations and joy lingered long after our plates were cleared.
But something quietly held me back from inviting and serving people as often as I wanted.
Where will we put everyone?
Our home feels too small.
Our schedules are pretty full.
What will I cook?
How much will this all cost?
And what about the mess?
I had a laundry list of reasons why serving others could only work under certain conditions. The truth is, it wasn’t the size of our home or the potential mess that held me back from inviting people into our space and serving in simple, practical ways. What held me back wasn’t ability, it was insecurity.
I was making service more about me than the people God had placed in my path, overthinking things no one would probably think twice about, and it distracted me from the entire point of what serving others is all about. Have you experienced this too? We want to welcome people into our homes and serve people outside of our homes, but sometimes we create our own barriers along the way, don’t we? Fear, busyness, and insecurity can remove us from the exact situation God can use us in for good.
However, God, in His kindness, gently began to shift my perspective to what true, practical service looks like by placing me in environments where I was the one being served. Nothing like getting a front row seat to learning, right? I started to see excuses on my laundry list of why I couldn’t serve others slowly become crossed-off.
When a friend invited me to her house, and she placed a hot plate of pot roast in front of me for dinner, did I care about the size of her home? Not at all. When I met a friend at a coffee shop and she offered to pay for my latte, did I focus on her outfit instead of her kindness? Not a chance. And when toys were scattered across a friend’s living room during a playdate, did the mess matter when laughter was filling the air? Nope.
My heart’s desire in those moments was connection, not perfection, and I believe the same is true for the people God has placed in your path to serve.
Jesus modeled perfect service to us in the most humble, accessible way. He didn’t have a mansion on earth, the most expensive meals to serve on a fancy platter, or flashy worldly things to offer, yet He freely gave His time, attention, love, and ultimately His life in service to us.
When we make service about ourselves and the barriers we create, we miss the beauty of giving and receiving in the way Jesus intended. Serving others is not about preference or convenience; it’s about obedience. It’s about connection. And often, it can be simpler than we think.
I believe serving others practically begins with handing God what’s in my hands, then asking Him what to do next. Friend, my question for you today is this: What’s in your hands? What has God gifted you with that can be used to bless others?
Maybe what’s in your hands looks like doubling a recipe you were already planning to make and inviting someone over to share it with you.
Maybe it’s a tight budget but a willingness to offer what you have to someone in need.
Maybe it’s a full schedule but a free evening you could make available for a friend who could use a listening ear and a word of encouragement.
What we have may not feel like much, but in God’s hands, it can bless people more than we may know. How do I know this? Because I’ve been the recipient of people living their lives with open hearts and hands, blessing me in practical ways when I needed it most. Serving like Christ is not a performance; it’s a heart posture, a willingness to offer God our time, talents, and treasures for His glory, not ours.
I love that we are not the first ones to wrestle with this concept. You have to appreciate that Jesus’s early disciples were all trying to make sense of His parables and teachings, and like us, they struggled to understand and obey.
In Mark 10:35–45, we see James and John vying for a future seat on either side of Jesus in His glory (in Matthew 20:20–28, it’s their mother lobbying on their behalf). James and John understood who Jesus was and why He came, but they missed the boat on what it truly meant to follow Him as servants.
Jesus responded to them, sharing that they would have to suffer as He suffered, and that only God could grant their request. Then, He spoke to the heart of the matter in 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.”
In that moment, I imagine everything shifted for the disciples. Like a spiritual realignment, Jesus reveals what true leadership looks like in His kingdom, and it has nothing to do with status, performance, money, or having the perfect plates to serve people on. It is about prioritizing people’s hearts, meeting their needs, and showing them what selfless, Christlike love is all about through our actions and service.
I love the words we read from Paul in Philippians 2:3–11:
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
What beautiful, holy words to take to heart today. Jesus didn’t just teach and preach about serving others; He lived it. If anyone could have chosen not to serve, it would have been Him, our Savior and King. Yet in humility, He chose to value others above Himself.
Friend, is there someone in your life who needs to be served today? I encourage you to ask God to reveal what’s in your hands so that you may hand it right back to Him. You never know how God may use you to meet a need, and ultimately, to point someone to the tender heart of Jesus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for blessing us with Jesus as the perfect example of what faultless, heartfelt, practical service looks like. Lord, reveal to me who You want me to serve today and how I can serve them. Help me to notice people and their needs more often. Give me the courage to be obedient to Your promptings, and thank You for Your continual service to us. We love you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
