Daily Devotion 28 October 2025

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10: 43-45

READING: 1 Peter 5: 1-11

It’s an easy way to show politeness – stepping back and indicating that another person should go first through a doorway or in a grocery shop queue. Everybody feels good, and a little moment of courtesy can make someone’s day. Not least, the nice glow of feeling that one has put someone first.

But it’s one thing to do that in a momentary encounter. It’s another to put others first in every area, at every moment – even in our hearts and minds. But this is the service to which Christ calls us; that we should be “eager to serve” (v2).

In this letter of Peter’s, he addresses himself to both the leadership of the church (“the elders”) and to those who are under their leadership (“the flock” & “you who are younger”). He calls on all to be humble, respectful and to serve each other.

The opposite of selflessness, namely selfishness, stems from two basic roots.

The first is the sin of pride, which puffs up our own importance in our minds, causing us to think that we are intrinsically better than the people around us.

The other is actually fear – fear that if we put other people first, our needs will be forgotten, and we will become the proverbial doormat over which the rest of the world will gladly walk.

But in the light of Christ’s teachings, those two roots wither and die. He tells us we are all sinners, that our only value and achievements are founded in His grace – so much for pride! And He tells us of how He loves us perfectly and continually, which casts out all fear of neglect or abandonment!

That gives us the freedom to see the beauty that He sees in other people – His wonderful creation, all equally loved by God.

But these words only really make sense when we start to act them out. We must be willing to give up anything that we think makes us ‘better’, or ‘special’, or separate from others, while treating others in a way that honours them and gives them dignity.

Prayer

Father God, in humility, I ask You to help me see others through Your eyes of grace, and to lavish on them the same unconditional love You have shown me. In Your name I pray, Amen.