Be a Servant
Be a Servant
Do Christians truly desire to imitate Jesus, to become more like Him? Many would answer with an enthusiastic “yes” to the question, but what does becoming more like Jesus actually entail? A very sobering thought comes from Mark 10:45, which says of Jesus, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” In our Western culture, the idea of serving and putting others first certainly clashes with our more widely accepted idioms like “fight your way to the top,” “putting yourself first,” and “survival of the fittest.” So it’s perfectly clear that being a servant is a way to imitate Christ and to become more like Him.
To become more like Jesus, we need to put Him first and see Him as our path to true contentment. If knowing Him is our goal, then having the heart, mind, and soul of a servant will not be such a stretch for us. We, believers, have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to lead us and guide us into all truth. God’s word has many examples of Jesus exhorting us to love our brothers and sisters and to give sacrificially in all we do. Paul even said in Romans12:1, “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.”
As Glenn McDonald says in his wonderful book, The Disciple Making Church: From Dry Bones to Spiritual Vitality, “Our lifelong job assignment is not to take care of us. It is to lay down our agendas to take up the agenda of our Lord . . . Every possession, every relationship, and every breath originates from the hand of God. Therefore, the only lifestyle that is rational—that is, that corresponds to reality—is that of the servant, the one whose joy increasingly becomes the result of seeking someone else’s joy.”
Let us Walk in His Way.
Dear Jesus, Thank You for Your selfless service to humanity when You walked the Earth. Lord, transform us by the renewal of our minds to be used to further Your kingdom, as You have commissioned us, by conducting ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. This certainly includes waking each morning in Your service, for whatever Your will requires. Be glorified, Lord Jesus! Amen.
by Corinne “Kinney” deHamel
author of “Walk in His Way” for
Carry the Light Ministries
