Jesus took a little child in his arms and said, in effect, "Here is your ministry. Give yourself to those who can bring you no status or clout. Just help people. You need this little child. You need to help this little child, not just for her sake, but more for your sake. For if you don’t, your whole life will be thrown away on an idiotic contest to see who is the greatest. But if you serve here often and well and cheerfully and out of the limelight, then the day may come when you do it without thinking, "What a wonderful thing I’ve done." Then you will begin serving naturally, effortlessly, for the joy of it. Then you will begin to understand how life in the kingdom works.
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People, p. 109