“Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
Mark 9:35.
Jesus was very clear that the path to greatness lay in serving others by obeying God. Although He was the Son of God, He learnt obedience by what He suffered, obedience to His Father’s will. It was in obedience to God that Jesus became a servant of all.
What is the position of God in your life? Sometime we dishonour God by taking His position when we decide by ourselves what to do tomorrow and when we begin to tell God what to do, how we want Him to do it and when we want Him to do it. Unfortunately, by man’s plan driven by sense knowledge, so many of us have taken over the future. And when we make plans for tomorrow without reference to God, we are guilty of the sin of arrogance and self-sufficiency.
Only the present is ours. No man knows by the present sign what the future holds; the future belongs to God and God is the Governor of our future. The position of God in our life is power. Our will must submit to God’s will before His power can work through us and for us. God’s power is for Christian services: to save, to heal, to deliver, to bless others. We serve God when we help our fellow brothers. Therefore, our attitude towards God and our fellow human being should that of a servant for God’s sake. Love and be loved but love for God’s sake. Help and be helped but help for God’s sake.
Take this lesson from Jesus. Jesus knew who He was and where He was going. That is why He became the servant of all. Because He knew this world is just a market; He knew He was just passing through. John 13:3-5: “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
So today, if you know you are a child of God, if you know that one day you are returning to God and resting in Him, the best way to use life is to spend it on something that will outlive it.
- Love someone more dearly every day.
- Forgive someone from your heart every day.
- Give away what your life depends on every day.
- Sow to the Spirit every day.
That is how you can be servant of all.