Like Jesus- To Be the Slave of All

Much of the time, my day does not go the way I planned it. As of late, I feel like I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, partially because I feel so wound up that I stay up late and remain so at the end of the day. I don’t think I was truly asleep until 2:30 or so this morning, though, perhaps, it was sooner. I don’t get the work I want completed, and end up serving in other capacities. This is when the Lord reminds me that my time is not my own (although I do need to prioritize better). Some weeks are just like that, and while there are things I should say no to, my position, at its core, is to serve. In thinking on this, though, Jesus Himself said He came to serve and not be served, and, dear follower of Christ, this is not merely the mandate of preachers, or elders, or deacons, or Sunday School Teachers, or Church Secretaries. If Christ called you by name, than your mandate is to look like Him, and in doing so, to serve others instead of being served. Jesus said “

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

Whoever is to be the greatest in the Kingdom should be the slave of everyone. Not an indentured servant whose arm is twisted, but a bond-slave, who has given Himself wholly over to the Master’s house. The bondslave serves out of love, and so he washes feet when no one else will, he does all without grumbling and complaining, and he serves where necessary, and, just like Jesus, does so without drawing attention to himself. We’re to model ourselves after Christ, even to the point of death, whether physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, monetarily, or otherwise. We are not our own, or so say the Scriptures, we were bought with a price, and while that verse is about honoring God with our bodies, so, too, are we called to emulate Christ by His example, and consider the cost. Like Jesus, we’re here to serve and not be served, and we can show Christ’s love in our service.

Philippians 2:1-18

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.