Our Daily Bread: This Far By FaithExemplo

The Gift That Keeps Giving 

When I was eight I received a gift that has never stopped giving. I was riding downtown with my mother on a sunny day when suddenly a heavy downpour began. We drove by a couple, shocked by the rain, and attempting to block the pelting beads with their hands. I watched intently as our car came to a stop. Without a word my mother went to the couple, giving them our brand new umbrellas! As expressions of gratitude filled their faces, a smile took over mine.

As my mother had bestowed a gift on complete strangers, she also gave me the gift of serving. In Galatians 5:13–15, the apostle Paul instructed the early church to serve one another humbly in love. This beautiful legacy remains in the historically Black Church. Whether by the pastor, a church mother, or a child, humble service is a hallmark. In moments with my mother, she taught me to serve. Today I understand why she was always helping someone in need, why my grandmother opened her home to the abandoned, and my great-grandmother cooked for the community. 

Through times of pain and persecution, great joy and deep mourning, serving has always been a priority. As we continue to do the work God has called us to we can extend our legacy in the body of Christ by serving each other—just like those who’ve gone before us. -Breonna Rostic

Serving blesses others and us.