acts of service
1 . October . 2009
community-minded living
(aka. self-sacrificing for the benefit of another,
others-awareness)
shows itself in both the
big and small
gestures of life.
a few things i’m awed by from yesterday,
a normal but far-from-ordinary day:
-before hailing a cab for herself + her son
after mom’s group,
a young mom looked around + asked,
‘who needs a free ride uptown?
who can join us?’
-a friend called to say she
was running to fairway +
did i need anything?
-another friend saw me wince
in pain and insisted
on running across the street to
grab some ibuprofen on my behalf.
(we were out.
and, boy, did i need that.)
-a friend distracted a cryingfrustrated betsy
while i collected our things so
we could head home from the playground.
by the time i returned with our bags,
b was happily swinging
as my friend continued gently pushing her.
(which gave me another minute to
enjoy the adult company)
-i watched as someone pull the full trash can
out from under the sink
at the end of fellowship group last night,
tied it up,
put a fresh trash bag in
and carried the full bag outside.
these people take
philippians 2 seriously;
i have so much to learn from them.
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love,
if any fellowship with the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion,
2then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4Each of you should look not only to your own interests,
but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
-philippians 2:1-11
1 . October . 2009 at 1:12 pm
I love that definition of community-minded living. I had a big lump in my throat reading this post b/c I too am so thankful to live among a body of believers who live this out on a daily basis…and during these last few months with a new baby, I have been humbled and encouraged and thankful on a regular basis by all the people who have cheerfully sacrificed their time and energy on our family’s behalf.
1 . October . 2009 at 1:20 pm
I aspire to this kind of community minded living. Isn’t it always a work in progress? I love how you’ve shared practical examples of it in your everyday life. Makes the verses you’ve shared more authentic.