“…but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43b-45 (NKJV)Jesus spoke these words to His disciples while on the road to Jerusalem. As they journeyed, Jesus explained to His disciples what He would suffer in Jerusalem; He would be betrayed, condemned to death and killed, but on the third day He would rise again.
When Jesus finished telling the disciples of coming events, James and John (brothers) ask Jesus to grant them the right to sit on either side of Him in His kingdom. This, of course, did not sit well with the other disciples. In response, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach His disciples an important lesson; in order to be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven, they must learn to serve others. He tells them that even He, the Son of God, came to serve; not to be served.
To be in service to others can be a hard pill to swallow…some may even think it demeaning; surely service to others could not be the road to greatness! But most assuredly, as Christians, we are to be in service to others. Not only are we to serve others, but we are to serve others gladly and with an attitude of gratitude.
Why??? Love. We are to love our neighbors as ourselves—Matthew 22:37-39. We are to love others because God so loved us that He gave us His son to die on the cross for our sins—John 3:16. It is impossible to become Christ-like without love and it is impossible to love and not serve—1 John 2:3-6, 1 John 3:16-18.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1aDear Lord, May I worship you today through love and through that love may I be a blessing to others in your precious name. I pray that by serving others gladly I honor, glorify and magnify Your Holy Name. Amen.
God Bless!
