2nd Week of Lent

The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.

Name a fairy tale, a novel, or a movie in which you see the king throwing open his palace doors to invite people in so that he can wait on them.   Or what about a monarch who goes out into the village to cook a meal and dine with his subjects?   You probably won’t be able to think of very many.   It’s usually royalty that is lauded and the common folk who bow to serve them.

Not so with the kingdom of heaven that Jesus came to usher in.   He may be the King of kings and Lord of lords, but he “did not come to be served but to serve” (Matthew 20:28).   Repeatedly we see Jesus ministering to the poor, eating with sinners and tax collectors, and healing the sick.   Even on the night of his betrayal, we see him washing his betrayer’s feet!   But the height of Jesus’ service to us was when he laid down his life on the cross so that we could be reconciled to the Father.   And he did it all for love—love for each one of us.

Jesus’ example shows us that at its heart, service is a way we express love.   When we serve instead of demanding to be served, we give Jesus the opening to shape our hearts so that we can become more like him.   We also continue his work of ushering in the kingdom of heaven on earth—because it is through our loving service that we reflect God’s love to the people around us and give witness to the gospel.

You probably already serve in numerous ways.   But ask yourself, “How does my service express my love for the people in my life?   What do my demeanor and tone of voice toward them reveal about the way I view Jesus’ call to serve?   Is there a way I can show more compassion or be more consistent?”   There’s always room for improvement!   There’s always room to increase your view of service as a privilege and not a burden.

Do you want to become more like Christ?   Then let him shape you into a servant after his own heart, always eager to serve as he did.

“Lord, how can I love your people today through service?”

Jeremiah 18:18-20
Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16