our daily bread

[Dexu Xia]

Growing a Servant’s Heart
I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:27
It was a long day at work. But when I got home, it was time to start my “other” job¬: being a good dad. Greetings from my wife and kids soon became, “Dad, what’s for dinner?” “Dad, can you get me some water?” “Dad, can we play soccer?”
I just wanted to sit down. And even though part of me really wanted to be a good dad, I didn’t feel like serving my family’s needs. That’s when I saw it: a thank-you card my wife had received from someone at church. It pictured a bowl of water, a towel, and dirty sandals. Across the bottom were these words from Luke 22:27: “I am among you as one who serves.”
Lord, help us to become more like You.
That statement of Jesus’s mission, to serve those He came to seek and save (Luke 19:10), was exactly what I needed. If Jesus was willing to do the dirtiest of jobs for His followers—like scrubbing His followers’ no doubt filthy feet (John 13:1–17)—I could get my son a cup of water without grumbling about it. In that moment, I was reminded that my family’s requests to serve them weren’t merely an obligation, but an opportunity to reflect Jesus’s servant heart and His love to them. When requests are made of us, they are chances to become more like the One who served His followers by laying down His life for us.
Lord, sometimes it’s hard to serve others’ needs. Help us to become more like You, willing to express Your love in the many opportunities we have to serve those around us each day.
God’s love for us empowers us to serve others.
Our Daily Bread welcomes writer Adam Holz! Meet Adam and all our authors at odb.org/all-authors.
仆人心态
我在你们中间如同服事人的。-路加福音22章27节
辛苦忙碌工作了一整天之后，一回到家，我就得立刻投入另一项工作：当个好爸爸。妻子和小孩原本的问候声变成了：“爸爸，晚餐吃什么？”“爸爸，你可以帮我拿杯水吗？”“爸爸，我们可以踢足球吗？”
我真的只想坐下来好好休息，虽然我想当个好爸爸，但我却不想服侍家人。就在此时，我看到一张妻子从教会带回来的感谢卡。上面画着一盆水、一条毛巾和一双肮脏的拖鞋，图片下方有一节经文：“我在你们中间，如同服事人的。”（路加福音22章27节）
这节经文正是我所需要的，它描述了耶稣的使命，祂来是要服事祂所寻找和拯救的人（路加福音19章10节）。如果耶稣乐意为祂的门徒做那些最肮脏的工作，像是清洗门徒沾满污泥的脚（约翰福音13章1-17节），那我也应该毫不抱怨地替我儿子拿杯水。那一刻，我想起家人需要我服事他们，不仅是义务，更是向家人展现耶稣仆人心态和慈爱的机会。当人需要我们的服事时，那就是一个机会，使我们更像那位以牺牲生命来服事我们的基督。
主，有时要服事他人非常困难。
求祢帮助我们，愿意在生活中抓住服事人的机会，
以此展现祢的爱，让我们更像祢。
上帝的爱让我们有力量服事人。