You may be surprised to find that I chose that picture to represent and display an image of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. aka MLK. But the reason for that is because this picture was taken as he was in jail and he was OFTEN in jail because of service. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying - go do something that will get you jail. BUT we must remember that the laws of man and the laws of God do not often coincide. Therefore, serving someone may be the cause for you to end up in jail. These days things are much differently now (not necessarily in the ways they should be) so you may not get arrested for serving someone - but the purpose of this image is to consider, would you go as far as to be willing to get arrested to serve others?
Jesus did, He got arrested AND killed to serve others. And I believe that's a huge lesson for us and something we get to acknowledge, remembering that service does come at a cost. For Jesus it was the cost of torture and His life, for MLK it was the cost of going to jail and being attacked, and for you it may look different. Not every serving situation will cost you something big, may not cost you anything at all - but serving others often does come with a cost. So the more we do it and the more we recognize how important it is for the world, the more our faith grows - because we see more of what God can do through us and does for others.
So on this here Martin Luther King Jr. Day - and halfway mark of this email series, I would encourage you to think about how you are living a life of service. Do you serve people daily? If you have a job where you serve others, do you intentionally serve others outside of your job as welll? Do you serve people outside of your family? Do you serve at church? Do you serve your community? Do you serve without hesitation? More reflections questions will below - but begin considering how living a life of service is the ultimate example of how we get to live life like Jesus did.
Also, consider reading his letter from a Birmingham jail to learn more about MLK's heart behind the things he would do, think, say, and believe. links below!
