Mon Devotional

Daily Devotional 

from Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt:

“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 10:45


The most successful companies in the world are those who have found what is called a strategic sweet spot in a crowded market. This “sweet spot” sets the company apart from its competitors and gives it a distinct advantage in the marketplace. Companies like Apple, Samsung, Amazon, and EBay, among others, are so successful because they have found their strategic sweet spot. They know their wheelhouse, understand their core strengths, and use them to a maximum advantage to make the greatest impact possible.

In many ways, life is the same way. You will maximize your fulfillment and personal impact in life when you find your own “sweet spot.” For every follower of Christ, that sweet spot is defined biblically in one word – serving. Jesus Himself plainly stated in Mark 10:45 that even He, the Son of God, did not come to be served, but rather to serve others. When Jesus turned water into wine, fed 5,000 people with a few loaves and fish, and healed the sick and raised the dead, He was in His sweet spot. When He sat in the dirt to play with little children, started a conversation with a Samaritan woman at the well, and stooped to wash His disciples’ feet, He was in His sweet spot. Jesus came to serve.

How much more, then, should our lives be centered on loving and serving Christ by loving and serving others? What Jesus came to earth to do, He left His disciples on earth to do. And He didn’t just commission them to carry on that work; He also empowered them with the Holy Spirit so that nothing would be impossible for them. We, too, are part of that legacy of service. Every person who has surrendered their lives in faith to God has received the Holy Spirit, Who empowers us to serve in ways we never could on our own.

Jesus was never more in His sweet spot than when He was hanging on the cross, giving His life as a “ransom for many.” His greatest agony was also His deepest joy and His greatest expression of love. Living in our sweet spot won’t always be easy or fun. God will call us to serve in ways that stretch us, break our hearts, and could even put us in physical danger. But when we say, “yes,” in the power of the Holy Spirit and despite the cost, we, too, will experience our deepest joy and greatest impact. Nothing in this life is better than sacrificing for what will matter in eternity. Jesus is worthy of our greatest service. And when we serve others in our sweet spot, it is Jesus that we are really serving.

Jesus, Thank You for how You have loved and served me, even when I didn’t deserve it. I want to spend my life in my sweet spot by serving others in Your Name. Please open my eyes to the opportunities around me to follow Your example. I pray that everything I do would be for Your glory and not my own. In Your name I pray, Amen.