I go to a very compassion driven church. We are constantly serving in some sort of way. Whether its single moms, abused foster kids, or orphans in India, we’re serving someone! Because of this culture, serving has become a huge part of my life. I want those who are in difficult times to know that Jesus loves them and He hasn’t forsaken them.

I have a heart for the homeless. I think that so many of them lose hope (because of their living condition) and this couldn’t be more saddening. Jesus never ever gives up on these people, but so many of them don’t realize this.

Over the weekend I went with a group of kids from my youth group to Downtown Dallas to serve the homeless with some hygiene and food items. We had all the items in backpacks and as we walked around we gave away the backpacks. We had the opportunity to pray with a lot of them too. It’s really interesting to talk to the homeless because you find out you actually have a lot in common with them.

I had the privilege of meeting a sweet man named Larry. Larry looked like a normal dude. He had on very normal clothes. Normal haircut. As I was talking to Larry he began to tell me his story. He was from California and had been a drug dealer for 19 years. He had gone to jail, which forced him to get sober, and found the Lord. Once Larry was released he came to Dallas to start somewhere new. He has only been living in Dallas for 2 weeks and currently lives in a shelter but is in search for a permanent living situation.

By the end of our conversation I realized that his story is much like mine. We’re both sinners in need of Jesus! Even though I’ve never sold drugs or served jail time, we are so much alike.

My point in sharing this with you is to share how important serving is. We get caught up in one point of view of life and forget that not everyone grew up in church like us, or go to Christian schoo,l or have iPhones. When you serve, you become humbled. You learn that you aren’t better than the drug addict on the streets. You have sin in your life too! If you don’t currently serve, find a way to serve someone! Maybe you can get a group of friends together and hand out free water at the mall or offer prayer to people waiting in hospital waiting areas. Maybe it’s serving your mom or dad by putting your dishes into the dishwasher. Don’t get overwhelmed feeling like you have to do this huge service project. Start small and see where God takes you from there.