+DEV+ Serving

Date: March 22, 2011 1:00 AM
Topic: +DEV+ Serving

Serving

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who...made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..." (Philippians 2:5-7).
Scripture Focus: Matthew 20:20-28

The teacher who tries to do everything will burn out. The students who have no chores will not learn responsibility. These two problems can be solved with one solution: delegate those tasks. She would make the maintenance of her classroom the responsibility of the students. They straighten the reading books, dust shelves and sort crayons. She would concentrate on her job: teaching.

Interestingly, Jesus did not approach things quite the same way. He said, "whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" (Matthew 20:26-28). He was and is the King of the universe, yet He humbled Himself and became a servant for us in every way.

Knowing how Jesus gave Himself up for us even to the point of death on a cross, we should desire to serve others in our churches, neighborhoods, jobs, classrooms, etc. What a privilege we have to gratefully work for Him!

Insight: If Jesus came to earth expecting to be a servant, shouldn't we expect to be servants when we go to serve Him?