'Roids

I was watching an interview on ESPNews with Barry Bonds. The topic was steroids. Bonds’s personal trainer was one of four men recently charged in a steroid-distribution ring that allegedly supplied dozens of professional athletes with banned substances.

Athletes at all levels these days are doing all they can to get the edge. Nutritional supplements—some legal and healthy, others not—are widely used to give athletes an extra boost, better workouts and faster strength gain.

But what are the supplements of our spiritual lives? What does the spiritual steroid (without the negative connotation) look like? How do we get a boost?

There are many answers that would work here. But as I thought about my own experience, one thing popped into my mind: serving. Some of the greatest boosts in my spiritual life have occurred when I served on mission trips.

Back in high school, my youth group would take a mission trip every summer. There was one purpose: to serve others. Whether we were helping to build a church or hosting backyard Bible clubs, the focus was to serve.

Many people thought that we would come back from our mission trips exhausted, but we always came back energized and impassioned to live out the good news. What seemed to be an emptying of ourselves in service to others actually ended up boosting our faith and strengthening our hearts. Those service trips were always like ’roids for the soul.

Jesus called His disciples by saying, “Follow Me.” His life was one of complete love and service. So if you need a boost today, try serving someone.