For 30 weeks, I had been working through a devotional by Andy and Kim Harrison called The Discipling Cycle. This is a great book and I really enjoyed it.
I was very excited about this particular study because the week before, I had been reading my leadership book. One section was about servanthood and its importance, So I was ready to hear more insight and dig into this topic of servanthood. An exerpt from the first page of the study says this "Everything we do and are encouraged to do by the world's standards brings the result of making us look good. We study for tests to make good grades, which of course we could hardly do for another person. But we also work hard to make first string, to win our latest love interest, to keep up our car payments, ect,. The issue is where we pour our energy. When was the last time making someone else look good was on your list of things to do?" This really touched me because I realized how often I tried to make myself look good. For example, looking good in front of the boys, in soccer, or in choir. This is not the heart of a servant. A servant in the form of a wife makes her husband look good. A servant in the form of a friend makes her peers look good. This is how strong relationships are built. I make Jesus look good to the world because when He died on the cross, He made us look perfect to His Father. When He died, He showed us He wanted a strong relationship with us because of His love.
On Day 2 of our study, we read the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. (John 13:-1-15) Because of this story, I learned the value of being a servant by the example of Jesus. He tells His disciples in verses 14-15 to follow His example by washing the feet of others. He desires His children to be servants the way He was. Matthew 20:28 says "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." To be like Jesus in this way, we must be willing to do what others are unwilling to do. Sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, or vacuuming the car are all practical ways to be a servant.
I decided to make a personal purpose statement out of 2 Corinthians 4:5. As a servant of the Lord, I will not preach about who I am or what I can do; rather, who Christ is and what He can do.
Finally, 2 Timothy 2:24-25 taught me that serving is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that will, in fact, make us like God.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment