“Sometimes we become apathetic about serving the Lord or hesitate to do good because we don’t see any results...Don’t let discouragement over an apparent lack of results keep you from doing the work of the Lord enthusiastically as you have opportunity..." (Life Application Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:58)
“If someone does not consider himself Christ’s servant, then he is free to set aside the need for self-examination…Christ’s faithful servants are like navigators: we need to review how well we are “holding the course.” Are we, as stewards, managing the mysteries of God even as we claim to live in Christ? Christian life demands constant correction and self-evaluation…” (Dynamis 9/5/2015)
“If you want to serve God, prepare your heart not for food, not for drink, not for rest, not for ease, but for suffering, so that you may endure all temptations, trouble and sorrow.” (St. Sergius of Radonezh)
“Is loving and serving others unconditionally worth it if it brings you a lot of pain and suffering? Answering this question depends on how you measure worth. If you use a worldly return on investment model, then the answer is likely no, because you may never receive anything measurable in return by the world’s standards. But if you measure worth by Christ and truly believe He is the way, truth and the life, then there is no other answer but yes.” (Sacramental Living Blog)
“…service is where we bring peace to someone else by serving someone other than ourselves. Thus, peace is found in service to others. When I am serving, I am taking something from me and GIVING it freely to someone else. This promotes peace. When I am taking something from someone and making it mine, this is what disturbs and distorts peace and creates conflict.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“When Jesus came in the form of a servant, He was not disguising who God is. He was revealing who God is…The God made known in Christ is a relational God who is Himself described as “love.” (John Ortberg, Father Stephen Freeman)
“God created us to be social beings. Jesus said that the sum of the Law and the Prophets is that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbors as ourselves. To love requires loving others and letting others love you. Unless you have the rare calling to be a hermit, obeying God and being true to our divinely given nature mean engaging in community life.” (Rod Dreher)
“Serve others as if you are serving the Lord Himself!...The higher the leadership the deeper the servanthood." (Steve Campbell, Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“If we make the good of others one of our primary goals, we will develop a serving attitude that pleases God.” (Life Application Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 10:33)
“Jesus served others and He wants us to do the same…Only by living solely for loving and serving others boldly, as Christ did while on earth, thereby accepting meekly the disdain of this world, as He did, will I attain salvation.” (Antiochian Archdiocese)
“Never forget that your humility will exalt you. If you put yourselves last, you will find yourselves first. When you truly seek to serve, then you will also find yourselves served according to your need.” (Father Hanna Sakkab)
“To truly serve is to empty oneself completely and offer from the heart expecting nothing in return…Ironically, the more you “serve” the more you receive in the form of God’s blessings on your life.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“When confronted with a problem, those who are greater put themselves at the service of others. This is the only possible solution. As Christ says, those who wish to be the greatest must become the servants and slaves even of the weakest.” (Elder Sophrony of Essex)
“Personal contact with God’s people always is a challenge...We have to maintain love for others…Personal relationships require considering others' needs, problems, moods, and life-concerns. In order to love, we are forced to step outside ourselves, consider the life-circumstances of others, and deliberately choose kind and thoughtful ways we may tender service to them. Personal movement from self to other is a commitment to loving “in Christ.” It demands struggle to move toward the Lord’s standard of self-giving, in hope of refreshing others in their hearts, recognizing that it may entail death to our own needs and desires.” (Dynamis 9/1/2012)
"A person filled with the Spirit of Christ strongly desires to serve.” (Charles Stanley)
“When we are self-centered instead of selfless, we act against our very nature. From the Christian perspective, people ought to be selflessly loving toward others not just because it is a good idea, not just because it helps our species survive, not just because it earns us a reward, and not just because it pleases God. People ought to be selflessly loving because it is who we are. Humans are made in the image of a selfless God; loving others is what makes us truly human.” (Nabeel Qureshi)
“...service to others is healing, first and foremost for me. When I help others, I help myself. This is why it is pointless to ponder whether or not I am “worthy” to do what I am called to do. And for me, just like for every other follower of Christ, that calling is –to be of service to others, in the way that I, personally, can.” (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin)
“…theology grounded in the doctrine of the Trinity advocates that human beings cannot simply be reduced to self-referential entities. Human beings can never be separate, self-enclosed or self-sufficient entities. Their existence is verified in the relationships that they have with one another, with nature and ultimately with God. Thus, a person is not an individual but an open and ecstatic reality, refers to significant others for his or her existence. One becomes a person in self-transcendence, the movement of freedom toward communion.” (Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Clapsis)
“…we all are aware that only God is perfect and that He calls us, in our weakness, to serve Him and humanity at the same time. As human beings, regardless of our positions or roles in life, even when we serve Him in our families, at church or anywhere, to some extent we often sin, we are sometimes unjust, we can be wrong, we make errors, we cause harm, we deceive, we lack for love, etc. Our growth from our fallen state to perfection is revealed by the transformation of our heart...” (Metropolitan Silouan)
“…no matter who we are — no matter our backgrounds, our talents, our station in life — if we offer who we are completely to God, He will make us who we are supposed to be. If we offer ourselves completely to God — both our abilities and our limitations — He can and will use us to the glory of His kingdom. (Archpriest Steven Rogers)
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