Sacrificial Serving with Your Children

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’” Martin Luther King Jr.

 

  • Call your prayer partner for your 10-minute prayer call. Keep trying to connect until you get to pray together. This tiny habit of praying with a friend regularly will truly change your life!
  • This is the day that the Lord has made! Open up your Bible and journal and prepare your heart to meet Jesus. He wants you to draw near to Him, and He is eager to hear your prayers.
  • Please read Romans 12:9-13. Wow! These powerful verses are convicting, yet they represent a beautiful commission and declaration.

Sacrificial Serving with Your Children

I absolutely love serving with my kids! Cherished memories are made, their hearts are forever impacted, and the people we are serving experience true joy and compassion that can only come from one source—Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ himself was the ultimate role model and sacrificial servant. Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” Serving was one of His main missions when he was here on Earth! Showering love and compassion on those in need was displayed so well for us by the Son of Man. His actions showed us that
sacrificial serving is one of the most powerful ways to change lives forever for the Kingdom.

I used to work for Young Life, and during that season, my three girls and I spent every Thursday from 9:00 am until 2:00 pm serving hundreds of high school students grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. We prepped the sandwiches, cooked them, served them, then we sat and fellowshipped with the students, and finally, we spent the end of our time cleaning up. Eeekk! It was truly exhausting. And if I can be honest, a lot of Thursday mornings, I would wake up frustrated and completely not in the mood to go.

However, the most beautiful and rewarding part of those years was seeing my girls thrive in their duties, and most importantly, thrive spiritually. It was strenuous work, but they also reaped the benefits. I remember talking openly with them about how we, as Christ followers, are called to serve. I explained 1 Peter 4:10 to them and told them they were being “faithful stewards of God’s grace.” My children were able to see their mother praying with high school students. They witnessed teenagers who were depressed, insecure, and unable to fill the voids in their hearts. I was able to share the Gospel with my own three daughters from all of this.

Serving with my children prompted amazing discussions and helped shape my girls’ world views. Also, those memories are some of the most powerful and tangible examples for my daughters to know and feel with all certainty how much of a need there is for Jesus. They saw with their own eyes that God is the only source of true happiness!

This thought of serving with your little children may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. I realize I had a job that was very conducive to serving; but serving can really happen everywhere, even in the smallest moments! Serving simply boils down to love: showing love, modeling love, and doing it freely and humbly, even when no one is noticing. Galatians 5:13, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.

Blessings and Love,

Rachel

Questions to Ponder

  • Has serving ever impacted your family in the past? If it’s been awhile, why did you stop…or why did it fall off your schedule?
  • Thinking about your own family and its dynamics, how would serving impact all of you?
  • Does the thought of serving with your kids delight you or terrify you? Honestly, I know as a mom with little children, it can be so hard. I simply want to challenge your way of thinking about serving. How can your own heart become softer toward it?

Faith-Filled Ideas

Start serving alongside your children! Pray to make it a priority to introduce an area of being a servant into your routine with your kids. Also, use this opportunity to share with your kids some of the verses I mentioned and teach them that Jesus loved to serve! Lastly, pray for your children’s hearts to soften toward others and for them to eventually see opportunities to serve all on their own.

Here are some easy ways to serve with your children:

  • You can watch your friend’s children when she has an appointment. Your children will have to sacrifice alongside you as they share their toys and play with these kids.
  • Offer to give a neighbor kid a ride to school since you are driving there already. Your kids may have to wake up a few minutes earlier now to accommodate this new schedule.
  • Bring a meal to a new mom. Have your kids help prepare the meal, and pray for the family as you are driving the meal to them.
Rachel Jones
Latest posts by Rachel Jones (see all)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.