Serve Like Jesus
Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he had round him. (John 13:3-5, NLT)
Sometimes I think we say that we want to be like Jesus far too flippantly. We sing songs that declare we want our lives to be a reflection of Jesus’ life. But I wonder if we realize quite what we are saying. Do we REALLY want to be like Jesus? What if it means serving like Jesus?
For me, serving lies at the very heart of the Gospel and of who Jesus was. Jesus didn’t just occasionally do acts of service, He actually came to serve. He came to be a servant of humanity. I find it fascinating that Jesus’ outrageous act of service to His disciples follows immediately after the Scriptures talk about the authority Jesus had been given from the Father. What a turnaround to how the world (and most churches?) see authority and servant hood. We see serving as something that those in authority receive the benefits of and we tend to serve those in authority. Jesus though shows us an entirely new way: those in authority serve those who are under their authority. Amazing!
Serving should be something that characterizes the life of everyone who carries the name of Christ. It doesn’t always have to be big things and probably is usually in smaller, practical ways. Incidentally, Jesus’ act of foot washing was a practical act of service–people in those days got very dirty feet due to sandy roads and sandals. Perhaps today, if we have a car, we could serve people by giving them a lift to the supermarket sometimes if they don’t have a car. Maybe we could offer to clean somebody’s house for them. Or we could cook somebody a meal. Ultimately, we need to be looking for opportunities to serve people all the time. And note that I said people, not just Pastors. It is tempting to serve leaders to be noticed by those leaders. God wants us to serve anonymously and that is why serving those “under” us is important and teaches us humility.
March 22nd, 2005 at 1:26 am
i like that.the verse you used says something like “Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up…” this is God,the one whom all things were created.he was truely a servant of humanity.the most humble person i know and yet this is God we talking about.i guess he knew who he was.i want to be that humble!!!!!what do you think Jesus was thinking when he was washing the disciples feet?i’m really interested to the thoughts about this question
serving is so simple and rewarding(the examples you gave).
often in the Bible where ever you see worship you’ll see service,or they are sometimes interchangable…what are your thoughts on that