Give Servanthood a Chance

Yesterday morning Eric spoke on serving one another intentionally as a way of honoring Christ. We are challenged each year to make Christmas about Christ and His birth. When we celebrate a close friend's birthday, don't we make the attempt to bless them in some special way? Don't we contemplate ways of honoring who they are and expressing why we love them? Some of us know people who insist that they don't want personal gifts for themselves, but would instead prefer a donation to their favorite charity. And they are honored when someone actually heeds their request. I believe Jesus is honored when we serve one another in His name, but not just serving for the sake of fulfilling a request. We should serve intentionally, keeping the other person's needs in mind, whether it be through material or intangible gifts.
I love that Genesis is participating together in the Give Hope project this year by giving tenants at the River Street Shelter thoughtful items that most people take for granted. Things like deodorant, nail polish, perfume, shaving cream, etcetera, that may not be needs for survival but are often overlooked in donations to shelters. It's going a step beyond the survival needs and showing a person, "I know you are more than a mouth to feed, or a body to clothe. You are also beautiful and insecure of the same things that I am sometimes." It's remembering them as real people.
I also love the idea of setting aside time with another person, free of distraction, to discuss life and Christ beyond the safe topics. Eric's story of his dad was beautiful because it revealed our humanity and our inherent neediness, and our desire to give ourselves to the ones we love.
But it needs to be heartfelt, or else it isn't a sacrifice.

This year I get a wedding ring. I've been married for 5 years but for the first time since I've known him my husband can afford to buy me a ring. My husband also likes to read books. But reading them is not always as important as owning them, for some reason, and seeing his treasures lined up on a bookshelf really does something for him- the way other men like to see their trophies glistening on the mantle, or their interest in taxidermy displayed in the "den".
In order to pay for my wedding ring, my husband sold all of his books on eBay.
This ring is not just meaningful for conventional reasons. It is meaningful because I know what he sacrificed to buy me that ring, and we're getting rid of that ugly bookcase. And instead of just one diamond I get five (pictures forthcoming)!

What I learned from my husband was that he was willing to serve me with humility. He did not reach this goal with his own interest in mind. Philippians 2:1-11 is one of my absolute favorite passages because it is such a great reminder of how we should serve God and each other. And Christmas is an excellent time for this reminder.