"Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves."
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Dear Lord Jesus,
Make me a servant.
Thank You for coming to earth as a servant. You served freely with generosity and self-sacrifice. You exchanged up the glories of heaven, relinquished Your reputation as God, and took on human flesh. Theologians have tried to plumb the depths of the mystery of Your incarnation, but each attempt is inadequate. Unbelievers have stumbled at the incongruity and impossibility of Your coming to earth as "God made flesh." Mockers have ridiculed Your being conceived by the Holy Spirit. The vulgar have profaned Your virgin birth. Infidels have refused to trust the reality of Your death atoning for the sins of world.
Yet, You came to be a servant.
From the cross, You call me to serve. Make me a servant.
Servants get abused and taken advantage. "I demand service!" is the watchword of the impatient. At a restaurant, parts counter, or at a stop light, "I demand service!" Our self-centered agenda sees self as the center of each universe.
William Barclay pondered the need for servants. "What the world needs is service. The odd thing is that the business world knows this... The strange thing is that there is more argument about precedence, and more concern about people's 'places' in the Church, than anywhere else. The world needs and recognizes service... It is only the man who will consent to serve more than anyone else who will really rise high... It is a law of life that service leads to greatness; and that the higher a man rises the greater the servant he must be." (The Gospel of Luke, 1953, p. 279).
In the midst of a "me" generation, You came to serve. And from the cross, You ask me to follow Your lifestyle of servanthood at home, at work, and in the marketplace of life.
"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Make me a servant.
In the Name of my serving Christ,
Amen.
"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Make me a servant.
In the Name of my serving Christ,
Amen.
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