To Serve & ProtectНамуна

1. Serving on a Common Day

“He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:30 (NLT)

What is your greatest ambition? Let the question linger a bit as you meditate on it…

Achieving success. Making it in your career. Providing for a family. Being the best version of yourself. Closing deals. Making a fortune. Being on top of… well everything.

These are some of the ambitions men might jot down, immediately think of, or truly aspire to in their daily lives. And while nothing is inherently wrong with any of these life goals or statements, what place it takes on our priority list might be quite revealing. Is it on top of the list, dominating everything else? Or is it, maybe or maybe not, the result of serving a greater purpose?

As men we are called to provide service and protection to the communities God planted us in. Much like law enforcement, first responders, or those in active military service, all men are in fact called to serve and protect their society in everyday life.

You might not be a policeman, a soldier, or a firefighter. But as a man you are meant to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, bear His image, and serve those you come across in everyday encounters. You are called to look out for those around you – from the stranger crossing the street, to your children you tuck into bed at night.

Through this reading plan we will journey on Biblical examples of how we can, as officers and gentlemen of Christ, serve and protect at different levels of society and in different areas of our everyday lives. When we realize our duty is to put God first, as we were made in the image of His Son and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves commissioned to service in our community.

Today, let us start by meditating on the words of John the Baptist, “He must become greater, and I must become less.” If we let this sink in, we also discover that Christ, the truly Great One that John was referring to, already modelled this for us as God’s Son!

The apostle John’s Gospel starts not with genealogies and Christmas stories as the others. The beloved disciple rather states the fact that Christ existed as one with God from the very beginning: The image Adam was made to bear. The visible image of the invisible God. The One who witnessed to the entire Old Testament. The One who was with the Father, reigning from the heavens, throughout the dark history of humanity.

And then, at just the right moment in time, the King of the universe stepped down in humility to bring light to humanity. To serve the common man with the Good News that restores relations between Creator and creation. That was Christ’s greatest ambition!

He stepped down from the crown into the common. To serve and protect in everyday life. And bring light that every man can also shine and share as they go about their everyday lives…

Read John 1:1-14 and Reflect on the following…

• What do you observe about Christ’s humility from today’s reading?
• How can you serve like Christ throughout your everyday life?
• Where can you serve more deliberately in your community?
• What do you need to pray about today?