What Song Shaped Your Soul?

The Servant Song

There are songs we enjoy, and then there are songs that become part of who we are.

Over the years, many hymns have inspired me. Some have comforted me in times of sorrow. Others have strengthened my faith. But every now and then, a song comes along that does something different—it gives words to the deepest desires of the heart.

For me, that song is The Servant Song.

The opening words have become more than lyrics. They have become a prayer:

“Brother, sister, let me serve you.
Let me be as Christ to you.”

As I listened to the hymn again this week, I realized that it expresses the calling God has been shaping in me throughout my life.

When I was young, I thought ministry meant preaching sermons, leading churches, and having answers to people’s questions. There is certainly a place for those things, but after many years of walking with God, I have come to see ministry differently.

Today, I believe ministry begins by simply walking beside another person.

It means listening before speaking.

Serving before leading.

Encouraging before correcting.

Sharing life before offering advice.

That is the vision behind The Curious Pilgrim.

I do not claim to have all the answers. I am simply a fellow traveler who has discovered, again and again, that God’s mysterious grace is already at work long before I arrive.

Perhaps that is why another verse of The Servant Song speaks so deeply to me:

“We are pilgrims on a journey,
We are travelers on the road…”

Those words remind me that none of us walks alone. We all need companions along the way. Sometimes we are the ones receiving help. Sometimes we are the ones offering it. Most often, we are both.

That realization has also changed how I understand service.

For many years, I thought serving Christ meant saying “yes” to every request. Life has taught me otherwise. True service is not measured by how much we give away but by how faithfully we love. Love sometimes says “yes,” and sometimes it says “no.” Healthy boundaries are not the opposite of compassion; they make compassion sustainable.

That is why the motto of The Curious Pilgrim has become:

Open Heart. Open Hands. Clear Boundaries.

As I continue this pilgrimage, my hope is simple.

I hope that when people visit my little corner of the internet, they will not find someone trying to impress them. Instead, I hope they find a fellow pilgrim who invites them to pull up a rocking chair, share a glass of sweet tea, and discover together the mysterious grace of God.

The older I become, the more I realize that perhaps this is what ministry has always been.

Not standing above others.

But walking beside them.

Reflection

What song has shaped your soul?

It may not be your favorite song, but is there one that has quietly become your prayer and the way you seek to live your life?

Perhaps today is a good day to listen to it again.

After all, some songs are more than music.

They become a way of life.