Every Service for Jesus Matters

Most of our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the everyday places where the world isn’t watching, where applause is absent, and where routines often seem unremarkable. We rise, work, fold laundry, reply to emails, wash dishes, and drive carpools. Rarely do these moments feel profound.

But in God’s economy, the mundane matters.

A meal cooked, a floor swept, a diaper changed when done in light of Christ’s goodness and for His glory, no act is too small. And one tiny, often-overlooked story in the Gospel of Mark proves just that.

“Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told [Jesus] about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.” (Mark 1:30–31)

Here, in only three verses, we find a profound display of what God values. A nameless woman, freshly healed, chooses to serve. Not with grandeur. Not with a platform. But likely with bread, cups, and quiet presence. Her act was domestic, localized, and, by most standards, insignificant. Yet the Holy Spirit saw fit to record it for eternity.

Why? Because her ordinary act was done in response to an extraordinary Savior.

Jesus initiated everything in this scene He came to her house, He took her hand, He healed her. She didn’t ask. She didn’t strive. Her serving didn’t earn His favor. She served because she had already received His grace. Her service flowed from His goodness.

This is the rhythm of all Christian service: from grace received, to grace extended. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our acts even the unseen, unsung ones are meaningful when they echo the mercy we’ve received. A cup of cold water, a whispered prayer, a slow conversation with a struggling soul each reverberates with eternal significance when offered in response to what Jesus has already done.

And that’s not all. Her humble work also carried the weight of witness.

In the surrounding verses, Mark underscores Christ’s authority over unclean spirits, over disease, over every broken thing. Simon’s mother-in-law serving after being healed is not just practical, it’s proof. Her service is evidence of His power. The immediacy and completeness of her healing is shown in her simple response: she got up and served. That action becomes “exhibit A” for the authority of Jesus.

What does that mean for us?

It means the smallest act, when done in the strength Jesus provides, becomes a megaphone for His greatness. Paul puts it plainly: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We don’t need stages or spotlights to serve the kingdom. We need hearts that respond to grace and hands willing to move even in the most unnoticed places.

This is liberating news. It means today not some far-off day of achievement is bursting with purpose. That spreadsheet you’re finishing? It can display God’s order. That lunch you’re packing? It can echo His provision. That tired smile to your child? It can reveal His kindness. When offered from Jesus’s goodness and for Jesus’s glory, each task becomes sacred.

It’s not about being impressive. It’s about being faithful.

We live in a world obsessed with fame, platform, and influence. But the Kingdom of God is upside-down. The last are first. The servant is great. The widow’s two coins outweigh the rich man’s surplus. And a nameless woman in a small town, serving bread after being healed, is remembered forever in Holy Scripture.

So what might that mean for you?

Pick any mundane task today: folding laundry, responding to emails, wiping counters. Before you begin, say these two phrases “from Jesus’s goodness” and “for Jesus’s glory.” Let them surround your work. Let them shape your posture. You’ll find joy welling up where boredom once ruled. You’ll find significance where you once saw monotony.

God sees. God values. And God delights in the offering.

Because in His eyes, no service done in love no matter how small is ever wasted.

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