Today’s Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-7
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Unamuno, the Spanish philosopher, tells about the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, in his native Spain. It was built in 109 A.D. For eighteen hundred years, it carried cool water from the mountains to the hot and thirsty city. Nearly sixty generations of men drank from its flow. Then came another generation, a recent one, who said, “This aqueduct is so great a marvel that it ought to be preserved for our children, as a museum piece. We shall relieve it of its centuries-long labor.”
They did; they laid modern iron pipes. They gave the ancient bricks and mortar a reverent rest. And the aqueduct began to fall apart. The sun beating on the dry mortar caused it to crumble. The bricks and stone sagged and threatened to fall. What ages of service could not destroy, idleness disintegrated.
Few things are as exhilarating as expending oneself on a cause that betters the lot of others. Few things are as exhilarating as service. Service renews. It keeps us reinvigorated and energized. We cannot afford to be at ease in Zion. There are countless problems around us, and countless people that need help. Let us resist the urge to simply drift along, catering only to our own needs and resting easy. We must keep ourselves plugged in to serve. Jesus considered the will of God, His service to humanity, as His meat, a driving force, a source of strength and replenishment (John 4:34). Let us likewise approach the will of God, the work He has assigned to us, with passion and zest, feeding on the fulfilment that comes with expending ourselves for others.
The truth is, we need a great amount of energy to stay effective in life. And some of the most energetic people I have known and met are those who serve humanity tirelessly. Norman Vincent Peale was right on the button when he said, “The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have.” Service does not deplete, it reinvigorates. It is idleness and selfishness, on the contrary, that leaves us feeling frazzled and unfulfilled. So go ahead, throw yourself into service today. Pour yourself out, like Paul, in service of others. Run the race. Keep the faith. The Lord will give you the grace to do so. Fulfilment will never elude you, in Jesus name!
Memorize & Meditate:
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. John 4:34
Prayer & Confession:
I commit myself to service. I receive the grace to give myself untiringly to the will of God today and for the rest of my life, in Jesus name! Amen.
