Day 28 “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [be empowered through your union with Him]; draw your strength from Him [that strength which His boundless might provides]. Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up...
As we finish up our final week of Basic Training, learning how to love to serve, remember all the things we learned so far about serving others and putting them first rather than it always being about us.
Romans 12:14-21 (NIV)
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
There is no greater example than Jesus Himself when He said in Matt 20:26-28,
“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave- Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Learning now, at an early age, to put others first will give you a firm foundation later in life to always think of others before yourself. As we learned from experience this summer: the feeling you get when you put others first is satisfying and an encouragement to us and all those around us!