In “The Swan House,” a Christian fiction novel by Elizabeth Musser, the heroine’s mother dies in a plane accident and for weeks her grief consumes her. The girl, Mary Swan Middleton, becomes despondent, shunning the company of her friends and family.
Eventually, Mary’s continuous grief leads her housemaid to take her to a place that serves meals to financially disadvantaged families. Though hesitant to participate at first, Mary becomes increasingly involved in the ministry, and in part by serving others and helping them through their own struggles, she recovers from the loss of her mom. Mary surrenders her life to Christ in the novel, and through her experiences she becomes immensely joyful.
Similarly, service was one of the activities that brought me great joy and deepened my faith when I came to Harding. For my first semester, I arrived with the wide-eyed enthusiasm of a freshman, connecting with a local church, getting involved with devos, enjoying daily chapel and loving my New Testament survey class.
However, I felt I was not progressing as much in my faith as I had hoped I would, so I visited with my New Testament professor about my concerns. He suggested becoming involved in acts of service, and shortly after our discussion, an opportunity presented itself for me to tutor a little girl. A couple of times a week, I worked with her on her reading skills, and while I don’t think I can take much credit for the progress she made during that school year, it was incredibly rewarding to watch her confidence grow because she knew I cared about her and wanted herto succeed.
I think Mary Swan Middleton’s experiences in the novel and my experiences at school with service are reflections of the idea that faith and works are intimately connected (James 2:14-26). Likewise, I think we both discovered the deep joy that comes from helping others rather than focusing on ourselves.
Service to others was essential to Jesus’ ministry. Mark 10:45 reminds us that our Lord came not to be served but to serve. The King of Kings “was in the form of God … but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7, English Standard Version). Those are powerful statements: When the Creator of the universe comes down to Earth to serve the created, we need to pay attention.
Furthermore, Philippians 2:5 tells us that we need to “have this mind” in us — that is, we need to have Christ’s humility and concern for others’ well-being — and that means we need to learn how to serve like Him.
Commendably, servant-mindedness is one of the defining characteristics of our school. Bisons for Christ Day of Service, service organizations such as Christians in Action and Smiles for Christ, social club volunteerism and the recent disaster relief campaigns to LaPlace, La., all give testimony to our university’s commitment to being the hands and feet of Jesus.
So, to all of you who are participating in Relay for Life tonight, who collected gifts for the Magi Project or who are raising funds to support good works abroad, keep it up. You will both be blessed and be a blessing.
