If you're the type, you already know it.

You're the one who bends over backwards for anybody who asks, and you're volunteering to even if nobody does. You're the one who wears your heart on your sleeve and lets it bleed for anybody and everybody because you can't just say no. You're the one who runs back to the people who hurt you no matter how badly it burns because you know that the good times are great, and they need someone in their life. You're the one with the bleeding heart worn on your sleeve for anybody who walks past to claw at, the one pouring salt in your own wounds in order to season someone else's life.

Sound like you?

If you're recognizing this person as yourself, a lot of people may tell you that you're living life wrong if you're always laying yourself down to keep other people's shoes out of the water, but let me tell you something: we are called to do exactly that.

Romans 12:1 reads, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship."

You see, God calls us to be that person that lays ourselves down for others, and serves them, even when we get no thanks or reward in return. God sent His son to earth to serve and to save us in a way that we did not and will not ever begin to deserve, so how can we not do the same? Jesus tells us that when we serve others, we are serving Him, like we read in Matthew 25:40, "And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’"

When someone looks at me, I want them to see the love of Christ pouring from within me so that maybe they can look at me and say "there's something different about that one". If I can do that, maybe I can show the world that what's different about me is God's love and how recognizing and appreciating it has impacted my life in ways that are indescribable. Serving and helping others in any way I possibly can isn't always the easy route. I get busy, tired, and sometimes just don't feel like it - just like any other person - but I recognize that my good deeds for another person could be not only life changing, but life saving. My hands and time are simply the instruments through which God brings aid to those who need it. He puts each and every person in my life for a reason, and sometimes it is to help me, but other times my job is to help that person.

Who am I to shy away from the calling of the One much higher than I? How can I turn from helping someone God placed into my path of life? If I shy away from those in need, I've also shied away from God and the promises His love has given to me.