Elevated Friday, December 20th, 2019

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of kindness that illustrates what it means to value others over ourselves. A Virgin Airlines passenger named Jack recently got to know an 88-year-old grandmother named Violet in the terminal before takeoff. Violet was flying on the same flight as Jack from New York to the UK after visiting her daughter. Her visit was long overdue as her knees had prevented her from the long flight. As they boarded, Jack offered his first class seat to Violet to allow her to experience something she never had, and allow her to stretch her legs out more than she could in economy. Jack spent the long flight in her seat, which was located in the very back near the lavatories. Jack did all of this without a single complaint or request of the flight staff, and the only reason this story made news is because Violet insisted on taking a picture with Jack and a flight attendant posted it to Facebook. Jack blessed Violet with grace, humility, and showed what it looks like to count others as more important than ourselves.

We’ve all heard that following Jesus requires the same kind of sacrificial love that he displayed for us, but what does this mean in practice? Not many of us will he called to give our lives for someone else as Jesus did, but all of us will be called to sacrifice in order to bless others. The kind of love that sacrifices — whether big or small — is the kind of love that reveals the true heart of the Church to the world. When we sacrifice for the sake of love, not only do we expect nothing in return but we act knowing we will lose something as well. The Bible says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Today, pray for God to show you how you can act with the kind of sacrificial love in your life that Jesus did for us.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” — Philippians 2:3 NIV

Original Article:

http://bit.ly/2EwXaNG