Deeper Reflection
This week leading up to Step Up Sunday, we will reflect on Christian service and ask the Lord to lead and guide us in our thoughts and actions to better serve Him in the days ahead.Christian service first and foremost is service to God. In serving God, Christians serve the people amongst whom God puts or sends them. Christian service is to be modelled after Jesus’ example. He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man – fully God and fully man. Jesus took on human flesh without ceasing to be God the Son.¹⁵ Since Jesus is God, He could rightly have required to be served by all people – creatures whom God created in His image. However, Jesus came among people “not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (v.45). Jesus is the most striking example of humility and He expects His followers to imitate His way in their lives. Indeed, humble service to others is the path to greatness in the sight of God.Jesus’ supreme act of service to humankind was to give His life as an atoning sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. A person’s sins are fully forgiven if and when that person believes in Jesus – who He is and what He has done to make that forgiveness possible. A person thus forgiven by God is considered righteous by God and accepted into God’s family of redeemed sinners. The child of God, grateful for God’s mercy and grace, willingly submits to the Lordship of Jesus and joyfully follows Him in obedience.

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¹⁵esus is God the Son, the second divine Person of the Triune God, Creator of the heavens, the earth and all living things (Gen 1; Jn 1:1-18; Phil 2:5-11). Here is a helpful, concise article to help us better understand the Triune God or the doctrine of the Trinity: https://www.cru.org/us/en/train-and-grow/spiritual-growth/core-christian-beliefs/ understanding-the-trinity.html