Date: October 24, 2021 | Series: From Pastor’s Desk | Number: Vol. 10, No. 25
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Welcome to the last week of the month of October 2021. My prayer is that you will spend the remaining days of this year in the fullness of the joy of the Spirit, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
As we begin this week, let me remind you of the words of our Lord Jesus that say, “…If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35NIV) From what the Lord says here, it is clear that God is not against His children becoming the best or first in life. In fact, among the things He promised to do for the children of Israel, if they would obey His commandments, was to make them the head and not the tail among the nations of the world (Deut 28:13). So, it is not against His wish for you and me to be the head and not the tail wherever we find ourselves in life.
However, how do we become the kind of head God wants us to be, not just in this world but also in His eternal kingdom? How do we occupy a place of significance in His scheme of things? That is what the Lord is speaking to us about in that bible text. And He says it is by functioning as everybody’s servant.
Now what does it mean to function as a servant of everybody? Does it mean to become an errand boy or girl for everyone? Or does it mean for to become everybody’s waste bin, to become someone that everyone feels free to treat shamefully? No! What, then, does it mean?
Well, we can understand what it means by looking at the way our Lord Jesus Himself functioned when He was here in the world. Remember that He said that He did not come into the world to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). How, then, did He serve men? Was it by becoming their errand boy or someone that they could always treat as they liked? No! Rather, it was by going from place to place, doing those things that would bring about the fulfilment of the will of God in people’s lives.
Of course, there were times that He was insulted and despised by people because of the things He said about His relationship with God. In fact, He was eventually treated shamefully and killed because He called Himself the Son of God. But all through the period that He ministered among His people, He was highly respected by all of them, including His enemies.
So, being a servant of everyone is not about presenting ourselves as individuals that have no sense of worth and that people can treat anyhow. Rather, it is about living in such a way that the things we do and say are directly or indirectly bringing about the fulfilment of God’s purpose in the lives of those around us and those with whom we are in fellowship. And if this is the way we are functioning, then, we will never mind doing even things that are meant for slaves or errand boys and girls, inasmuch as they will result in the fulfilment of God’s purpose in the lives of others.
There was a time, for example, in which our Lord Jesus washed the feet of all His apostles, a job that was meant for slaves. He did that to show them that what makes a man great is not merely his title or position but his willingness to do whatever was necessary to serve those under his authority, even if it means for him to wash their feet. And did that make those apostles despise Him? No! Rather, it made them respect Him all the more. Also, it illustrated for them what He had been teaching them all along that anyone who wants to become first or great in the kingdom of His Father must be willing to serve others in any way that would bring about the fulfilment of God’s will in their lives. (Cf. John 13:1-17)
If we too, then, want to occupy great positions in the kingdom of God our Father, we must be willing to serve one another and those in our world in any way that will bring the will of God to pass in their lives. But are we going to humble ourselves to function like this or are we going to keep functioning with an exaggerated opinion of ourselves? My prayer is that our hearts will be made humble to serve all the people God wants us to serve in ways that will result in our greatness in His eternal kingdom. Amen.
Have a splendid week.
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