Service Springs from Love

John 13 tells the story of Jesus washing His disciples' feet. This is how it starts. 

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

John 13:1

Why does John begin by talking about Jesus' love for His disciples? Because through this story he is going to teach us something very important about service and its relationship to love in Jesus’ life and in our own. Service springs from love and is an expression of love.

Love is the fertile soil that produces service. Why is the young mother willing to get up in the middle of the night to feed her baby? Love! What makes a man willing to wait hand and foot on his wife in her old age? Love! Or even, as we are about to start a new school year, why do our schoolteachers and administrators return each year to jobs where they have to spend their own money on supplies, are mistreated by parents, and disrespected by students? Why? It certainly isn’t the paycheck. It’s love. They love the students; and they love their jobs.

True love is humble, and self-sacrificing. This kind of love always brings you lower to serve the needs of the other person. Only service rooted in this kind of love will last. Why? Because service that stems from a sense of duty will grow cold and die before long. 

So, evaluate yourself. When was the last time you did something truly humbling or selfless to love your spouse or your kids; to serve your friends or your church? If you aren’t drawn to put their needs above your own then you probably don’t love them as you should. If selfishness and self-love have crowded out your love for others, then stoke the flames of your love again. Think of one way you can put their needs ahead of your own today.