Holy Habits: John 12:26

John 12:26

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Serves. Servant. Serves.

Does that describe you? Do you serve? Are you a servant? If so, who are you serving? According to this Word, there is a direct correlation between the one who serves and the one being served. It isn't haphazard or random. It is on purpose. Christ is clearly saying that not only must we serve Him, but in order to do so we must follow Him. As we follow Him, we will be where He is and, then, we will be known as His servant. The blessing unfolds as we receive honor from the Father for our service to the Son.

Wow. This short little verse could be one of the most complicated pieces of instruction from all of Scripture, if we truly take the time to unpack it and look at the application. Our service matters, but who is it to matters more. Go one step further, and we can draw the conclusion that what we follow is what we serve.

Let's take this Word and apply it to the concept of holy habits, which is the process of shedding our coping ones for holy ones. We started with the mind, taking every thought captive unto Christ. We went to the heart, taking in the truth of God's love. Then to the Word, as our only source of truth. The next step was our knees, offering ourselves as living sacrifices unto the Lord. Now, we are at the final step in the Holy Habits process, determining to follow Christ and serve Him alone. With this last step in the Holy Habits process, we take our copings habit and discard them for holy ones. Look at these examples to see what I mean...

Coping Habit is...
I just need to earn more money, so that I can work less, get more, be more comfortable. Everything will be better and easier and happier for me, if I had more money. I can't take a Sabbath rest. I can't say no to overtime.

Holy Habit is...
Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Therefor I honor God and His word, taking a rest and trusting Him to provide for my physical needs, even if it means my own standard needs to change.

Coping Habit is...
If only I could only get my theology degree first, then I would be able to teach that Bible Study or Sunday school class. Otherwise, no one would listen to what I have to say about the Scriptures. Instead, I'll just keep being a student and attending church until I feel better able to serve.

Holy Habit is...
John 14:26 "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." I take confidence in knowing that the Lord will teach me all things that I need to teach. I will serve, not because I can, but because He can.

The list of examples could go on and on. But instead of giving them all to you, how about you spend some time coming up with your own. Look at your own coping habits. Are they based on fear, need for approval, insecurity, worry? What actions reveal your beliefs? What promises from the Word prove you wrong? Are you truly following Christ as His servant, or are you serving something else, like a coping habit?

As you come up with examples that are personal to your life, come back here and leave a comment. Or write about it at your blog and leave a link. I'm thinking it would be neat to compose a long list of Coping Habits that have Biblical truths which God will use to turn them into Holy Habits for all of us to draw on. I pray you will join in and together, we will see God teach us, the Body of believers who have full access to His wisdom for the benefit of one another!

Heavenly Father, thank you for your truth that is far better, greater, more wonderful than our own. Help us, Lord, to turn to you Word for instruction instead of our own default thinking. Change our lives, O Lord, to glorify you more fully! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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