We live in a culture that expects to be served. I mean, at the click of a few buttons on my outer-space device, aka iPhone, I can order someone to bring my groceries straight to my door, I can choose from any restaurant in town to deliver my cravings, and if I wanted, I could get dinner from one, and dessert from another!
Being SERVED… Maybe you think, “I serve! Every weekend at church, I serve my family daily, and serve my friends on occasion…”. But can you say you serve like Jesus, with a heart of humility? Expecting nothing in return? No appreciation, no thank you, or even acknowledgment?
How about always needing to be served by our pastors or leaders? We are always needy, upset, defeated… always needing attention. Yet, we can’t help anyone else because our problems and non-stop issues consume us.
I am bringing this to our attention not to make everyone feel like a horrid person… no, but to challenge how we live, think, and are in the HABIT of BEHAVING.
Jesus was the ULTIMATE example. If you refer to yourself as a Christian, that means “little Christ.” So we need to examine the examples Jesus has set before us so that we can be Christ-like.
Jesus came not to be ministered to but to minister. Not to be served, but to serve.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Matthew 20:28 NLT
Our Lord Jesus sets himself before his disciples in a pattern of humility and usefulness.
He never was waited on, he never had a train of servants attending to him, we read that he once washed the disciple’s feet, but we never read they returned the favor…
“He came to minister help to all that were in distress; he made himself a servant to the sick and diseased; was as ready to their requests as ever any servant was at the beck of his master, and took as much pains to serve them; he attended continually to this very thing, and denied himself both food and rest to attend to it.” Matthew Henry Commentary
I have been so consumed with myself, my problems, thoughts, and needs that I have missed this entire idea many times. How can I serve others when I am always in need, consumed with my drama, and in my head? Some of us need to re-evaluate our purpose as disciples altogether!
COVID really set us back. We all were stuck in our houses, trying to entertain ourselves and not go crazy. We became secluded, and many of us became recluses, in the habit of living away from others. Greeting others is almost extinct! Being social with strangers, well, that’s for weirdos. I had a nice, older man talk to me at the airport last week, and it was very refreshing. We had a simple conversation, just being friendly.
How can we serve if we alienate people? If we avoid them and do our best to avoid contact? Haha.. Trust me! I am TOTALLY guilty of this! I have done laps in the store to avoid people in grocery store aisles. Just gettin’ my steps in!! Or… could it be that I am not interested in engaging with another human? 🥴
Jesus never acted this way. He never avoided people. He gathered them. He was a magnet for them. He attracted them, and when they came in hordes, he made way for all to receive something. He took the time, energy, effort, and personal inconvenience to serve and love them.
When we consider the fact that his sacrifice on the Cross showed the love of Jesus, we cannot hesitate to lay down our lives for others. (1 John 3:16)
And if you are a leader or minister of the gospel, you should be MORE forward than others to serve and suffer for the good of souls, as Paul was in Acts 20:24. He said his life was worth nothing unless he used it for Jesus, the work of telling others about the Good News and the grace of God.
“The nearer we are all concerned in, and the more we are advantaged by, the humility and humiliation of Christ, the more ready and careful we should be to imitate it.” – MHC
We desire all the good things from Jesus and are quick to receive more and more blessings from him, frustrated when we don’t get what we want when we want it. We want our lives to be better, easier, and more blessed and our emotions to be at peace. So we have a lot of self-will going on.
But it’s not about us.
It’s not about me or you. At all. It’s about HIM.
- Do I serve? Or do I expect everyone to serve and cater to me? Including the Lord?
- Do I lay my life down for others? Or do I take and take?
- Do I serve in humility? Or do I serve with a deep-rooted need to be noticed, thanked, acknowledged, and rewarded?
- Do I make myself useful to the kingdom of God? Or am I a taker, even hoarder, of others’ time invested in me?
Pray with me…
Oh, Jesus, help us to love and serve like you. Help us to be Christlike. Help our capacity to be enlarged, our self-will to be crucified daily, and YOU to live and shine through us! Forgive us for missing it, for overlooking and ignoring the very reason you came… not to be served, but TO SERVE. Amen.
“Glory to God, who is able to do far beyond all that we could ask or imagine by his power at work within us.” – Ephesians 3:20 CEB
He can do it in you, and He can do it in me. So let’s renew our hearts and minds and continue asking the Lord to make us more like Him! Servants of the Most High God!!
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