Pretty regularly, I get the opportunity to perform a task that I consider a great service to my family…I have the important task of being the official taste tester for all the cookies and treats my kids bake. My bride, Lynn, doesnât usually eat sugar, so somebody has to do this hard task, am I right? I can only imagine how disappointed my kids would be if I didnât serve them in this way.
Okay, so hopefully you know Iâm writing this all with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek…Itâs totally fun to get to eat all the desserts my kids love to make, and itâs no strain at all, obviously.
Itâs funny though, as soon as anyone mentions âserviceâ or âbeing a servant,â so many of us get uncomfortable. We live in a world where success and popularity are prized, but the humility necessary to serve another person is often considered weak.
âŚ.Welcome to yet another way Jesus spirituality flips all our human logic on its head. In John 13, we stand back and watch, amazed, as Jesus spends some of His last moments before His crucifixion…washing His disciples feet.
The disciples protested, probably just like we would if weâd been there, and Jesusâs response is, âYou call me âTeacherâ and âLord,â and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one anotherâs feet.â
What?! Jesus is like, âIâm God, so it only makes sense that I would wash your feet…and now you should follow my example.â
I donât know about you, but to me that seems illogical…And yet, Jesus said in Mark 10:45, âFor even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.â
But weirdly enough, servanthood is at the heart of who Jesus is, and itâs at the heart of how we should live as His followers.
âServanthood is at the heart of who Jesus is.â Click To Tweet
Even weirder, Jesus said that the greatest in His kingdom would be the servant of all. Talk about a difference of opinion! Iâm sure youâve noticed in our society greatness is defined by individual skills and merit. Nothing we typically consider âgreatâ has to do with our spirituality, and it has everything to do with our humanity.
What Jesus cares most about is our love and service to others. He is interested in our desire to show His love to a world in need.
So what does that look like at street-level for us?
At the most basic levelâŚ.servants serve.
Now I know thatâs not glamorous, and it doesnât sound exciting, does it? But what âservantâ really means is making the commitment to help others⌠sometimes in spite of your own needs.
Servanthood is not a “position.â Â Itâs a disposition of the heart that says “yes” to Jesus and engages others in their places of need.
And being a servant doesnât mean we donât value ourselves…Itâs actually the opposite. We serve others because we love God and want to serve him. As we serve God, we grow in knowing what it means that weâre fully loved by Him — and out of that overflow, we serve other people.
So today, my friend, ask God to help you be a servant, not just in theory, but in reality. Because servants serve, take the opportunities that are presented to you and actually do something. Make a decision to serve wherever there is a need and praise God as you go. What you will find is that serving God by serving others is one of the most fulfilling human experiences under the sun. Not only will your heart be overjoyed and fulfilled, but you will be doing exactly what Jesus called you to do.