Articles
Make Me a Servant
The Apostle Paul speaks of Jesus’ incarnation this way: “…but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men”(Phil. 2:7). Jesus can be described in a number of ways based on what the scriptures say about Him. He is often referred to as the Son of David that would sit on his throne. In that light, we may think of Jesus as a King and you would be right to say that. However, when we observe Jesus’ personality and His actions in the gospel accounts we indeed see the fruition of what the Apostle Paul described.
Jesus did not come to be a King in the way we think of the word. Jesus Himself stated on a number of occasions that He did not come to be served but to serve. Jesus was a humble servant who put every single person before Himself. His greatest service was of course, was willingly dying on the cross. Prior to that you may think of the story told in John 13 where He stooped down to wash the feet of His disciples. Surely there is no greater example of service that such an example. Jesus showed us what it means to love. He showed us what it means to be self-less. Being a humble servant is what it takes.
As Christians, we are called to serve rather than to be served. Many times, we enjoy the moments where we get a moment of praise and pampering at the hands of another. Those moments can make us feel entitled and privileged. It can give us an inflated view of ourselves when we ought to be thinking about our neighbors. Being servants mean forgetting completely about what’s in it for us and what we can do for ourselves. If Jesus was like that, where would we be? Paul himself exclaimed that his deepest concern was for his brethren. The context of that statement was his sufferings. Paul, by all means, would have a good excuse to think of himself first but even then, he would do no such thing.
We must always look to put others before ourselves. That does not mean that we cannot look out for our own interests, but it does mean we must not lift ourselves up and inflate our mentality. May we serve like Jesus and Paul. May God mold us in His image and make us humble servants who seek to love, sacrifice and forgive. May we look out for the interests of others the same way we look out for ourselves. If we are ever behind in our service may we always look to the cross.
