Serving others with helpings of love

Thought: The fellow who does things that count doesn't usually stop to count them.

Biblical text: Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. (Philippians 3:13 NIV).

For more than a quarter of a century, Arnold Billie was a rural mail carrier in southern New Jersey. His daily route took him sixty-three miles through two counties and five municipalities. Mr Billie, as he was affectionately known, did more than deliver the mail. He provided "personal service." Anything a person might need to purchase from the post office, Mr Billie provided - stamps, money orders, pickup service. All a customer needed to do was leave the flag up on their mailbox.

One elderly woman had trouble starting her lawn mower, so whenever she desired to use it, she would simply leave it by her mailbox, raise the flag, and when Mr Billie came by, he would start it for her! Mr Billie gave a new definition to the phrase "public servant."

True Christian servants rarely think of themselves as doing anything other than the ordinary, when what they actually do is quite extraordinary! The apostle Paul called himself a slave to Christ, yet he was more concerned about being a good servant to ever worry about being a real slave. Why? Because true servants are motivated by love. It is love they know they have received from Christ. And it is love they give. eternity.