Last night during a bible study at my house we discussed the issue of servanthood and the role of Christ as the servant king. What stuck out to me most during that session was the fact that servanthood involves being a servant and not just doing service. Many times we neglect this fact and try to serve yet do so with an attitude that doesn't reflect the servant heart of Christ. By this I mean we serve out of duty or obligation but not from the heart of love, compassion and humility.
This then keys in on the real problem; the real question that must be answered--What is my motivation for service? Is it because I feel I have to as a Christian--a duty that must now take place because I am in the club? Or is it that because I am a Christian I now want to serve because servanthood is the very nature of who Christ is?
This issue of motivation, I feel, is the real reason that servanthood is lacking in the church today. Sure there are plenty of "service projects" but there are few who live lives of service. If we serve out of duty or obligation we miss the point. If we serve in order to feel better about ourselves or the world around us--we still miss the point. Being a servant is about loving compassionately without expecting anything in return. It's an attitude not an action; a state of being not a state of doing. It is living a life of humility where you take yourself out of the picture and put others first. This is what Jesus meant by the idea of denying oneself, taking up the cross and following him. He states that if you want to be great; be the least --BE a servant (notice here he didn't say "do a service"). In essence he says, "Be like me."
But how can I do this when I am so selfish and being a servant seems so contrary to my nature? How can I become something or someone that I am not? The answer lies in taking on a new nature that is not your own. It begins by denying oneself--removing yourself and your desires from the picture--and then taking on the person of Christ. In doing this you are asking God to change the very nature of who you are. You are asking him to change you so that his nature and his desire; his very heart will become your own.
Jesus didn't serve out of obligation but from a heart that reflected who God truly is. He gave all glory back to God as the one who was working through all that he did. His revelation of the Father through his actions, teachings, and ultimate death point out a God who serves and thinks of others even before he thinks of himself. Even when the disciples of Jesus didn't get all that he was doing and saying, his patience with them was constantly evident as an act of service to them as they continued to follow him. And even when they went back on their word and left him alone to die, he brought them back to him as a continued example of service with the instruction to serve others in the same way.
Be a servant by putting an end to having things your way and begin to let Christ serve through you. Know what it means to be in Christ and to have Christ in you as a Christian and then let that person change you more and more into his likeness. Immanuel is not just the baby in the manger, he is the true man who lives now and who promises he will never leave us nor forsake us.
Philippians 2.3-11
Galatians 2.20
Colossians 3.1-11
Ephesians 2.4-10
Romans 8.9-14
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About Me
- toddjefferson
- I will begin by saying that I am married to the most beautiful, intelligent, wonderful woman in the world--Emily. It has been the joy of this portion of my life to experience her love and friendship. Outside of my relationship to Jesus the Christ, my relationship with her is the most treasured possession that I have. I am dedicated to the ministry of the Gospel and presently am on staff at a church in Cincinnati Ohio. My one mission in life is to truly love God and then love people in the same way that He loves me. To do this accurately I live my life based on His means of revelation--generally in nature and specifically through His Word (Jesus) and His word (scripture). I hope that in everyway I can echo the words of Paul who said, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live, I live by the faithfulness of Christ (faith in Christ), who loved me and gave himself up for me."
3 comments:
Yes, it all starts with denying one's self. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." --Matthew 16:25
But who wants to change? While I'm on my Freud kick, Who would project a God who demands you to deny yourself out of wish fulfillment? Seems crazy. Unless, of course, what Jesus said about gaining life by losing it was true. Pragmatically speaking, if we consider some of the figures of great influence due to the working power of Christ, then it seems Christianity has the upper hand.
It is difficult for me to ‘do’ service, as far as things typically seen as ‘service activities’ are concerned. “When did my heart get so petrified”? As we have said, I want to want to be a servant, but man; I just can’t seem to lose myself in the process.
Great post, Todd. There is indeed a big difference between doing a service project and living as a servant.
I've been painfully aware of the motives behind many of my actions lately. I often wonder if I'm saying such-and-such to God in order to gain his favor, rather than saying what I really feel. I'll admit that I am frequently guilty of trying to manipulate God.
Yes--I am guilty of the same thing. It is both scary and encouraging that God, and God alone, sees the heart.
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