Sermoncitos, a family tradition
Service
I saw Julie carrying her baby and gave her a warning: “be careful, if you hold that baby all the time, you’ll get attached to it!” “No kidding!” she replied. I thought I was making a joke, but to her, every sense of the idiom was real. The more time she spends serving this helpless being, the more she grows to love him, the more she wants to be with him, and the more she misses him when they are apart.
Yet her service to the baby does not make him more dependent, it makes him more self sufficient as he matures. She enjoys their good times and bad times together while he is young, because too soon he will exert his independence. If he is humble, he will continue to accept her love throughout his life. He will be happier if he can appreciate her attentions, even when he is a teenager.
Today in our branch we are celebrating the life of a brother who lived long enough to once again need constant care of others. He was gracious enough to accept that change from self sufficient rodeo cowboy to becoming totally dependent, like a small baby. As he accepted the attention and care of others, their love grew, and everyone loved being around him.
Jesus said, “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27).
As true followers of Jesus, also must serve others.
Service is helping others who need assistance. Christlike service grows out of genuine love for the Savior and of love and concern for those whom he give us opportunities and direction to help.
Love is more than a feeling; when we love others, we want to help them.
Whether its being in church and fulfilling an assignment, or visiting people in their homes, or coming when they call, when we serve others we receive important blessings.
Through service we gain the ability to love. We become less selfish. As we think of others our own problems become less serious.
We must serve others to gain eternal life.
God has said that those who live with him must love and serve his children. (Mathew 25:32-46; Romans 12:1,2).
As I left on my mission my father gave me this advice: “accept the service that others may want to give you. They need the blessings that will come as they serve you.”
He lived this advice until the end of his own life. His years of service to my disabled mother made his heart tender, and increased his love and concern for us all. He served those on the other side of the veil through the name extraction program until the day he joined them. I am sure that he learned to love them, and was received with joy and appreciation by thousands. My own brother has greatly extended his fragile life by dedicating all the energy he has to the service of others in the missions and the temples.
Be humble all your life so you are able to accept the blessings of giving and receiving service. When we willingly serve others in the spirit of love, we become more like Christ.
May we learn to be more like Christ by serving and accepting service is my prayer.