In John 13:14-15, Christ commands his disciples to imitate him in order to govern their sacrificial service. So how can we ensure we don’t think too highly of ourselves that would prevent sacrificial service towards others? Here are a few questions for consideration:
-Do you allow your natural abilities to puff you up to the point of refusing to minister to others?
-Do you allow your earthy status, such as education, occupation or socio-economic factors to create a sharp distinction between you and other believers so that you create significant distance between yourself and others?
-Do you allow your spiritual growth to prove you are greater than others to the extent that more and more people become unworthy of your service?
Christ certainly did not utilize those kind of assessments to dictate his actions towards sinners. So to follow his example we must be willing to sacrifice our lives for others, which means handing over our time, our abilities, our wisdom and our resources for the sake of benefitting others.
So as Jesus calls his disciples to make humble sacrifices toward one another, it is all based on the supreme sacrifice he, being our Lord, made towards sinful man.
Here is how we can increasingly comprehend this truth:
1) Constantly think over the insurmountable gap between who you are and who Christ is; 2) Then consider the gracious love of Christ towards you; 3) Lastly, think over the relatively minor sacrifices he calls you to.
Doing that will lead us into thoughts like these:
-Who am I to be saved by such a merciful God who humbled himself unto death? -Who am I to be given a knowledge of God’s will, not only in precept, but also in example? -Who am I to be able to serve and follow such a glorious God in mimicking his mindsets and his actions, all of for his glory and not my own?
If we are to propel our sacrificial service, a proper assessment must be made.