In my last post: “Who Is Your Master”, I wrote about serving God indirectly as we serve people in our lives. We discussed Joseph and Nehemiah as great examples of servants. So today I’d like to explore our service to others and Jesus a little further.
For the purposes of this message, the terms servant and slave will be used interchangeably so don’t read into it. When I say I was a slave to my job, I know you won’t take that in a literal sense and you shouldn’t.
Slavery comes in many shapes and sizes. People are slaves to their jobs, bosses, hobbies, money, shopping, kids, habits, and the list goes on.
I once knew a lady in real estate that admitted that she would take a phone call while taking a shower! Isn’t that crazy? What did that say about her? The first thing that comes to mind is “fear of loss”. She was afraid that if she did not answer the phone, she wouldn’t get “the deal”. It’s interesting that the little things you know about people can say a lot about them.
I used to be a slave to a job. If I wasn’t working 50-60 hours a week, then I wasn’t doing my job (according to my employer). That job was at times very fulfilling and alluring, but it consumed me, burned me out, and left me empty.
I was a textbook example of a workaholic.
I think to a degree we are slaves/servants, to our jobs/clients, families, ministries and that’s not a bad thing. We have obligations and that is our “cross to bear”. I think it is important to determine for ourselves who we are serving, recognize that God put us there to serve and do it very well.
But before we can be great servants and follow in the footsteps of the aforementioned heroes, let’s see what it takes to be a great servant.
As a committed follower of Jesus I think before we can be great servants, we need to first understand who our master really is.
Matthew 10:37 “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.
This is so crucial to understanding.
If we aim to please a family member more than our Savior, then we can’t serve God effectively. Our loyalty will be torn.
Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
One great thing about putting God first is that He will enable us to serve others better.
John 15: 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
So what is the fruit?
Galatians 5: 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Now take some time to apply those attributes to any position of service. Just imagine how much better our service will be if we remain in Jesus.
So what does it take to remain in Him?
Knowing that Jesus was the ultimate servant, let’s take a look at what He did:
Luke 5: 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 6: 12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.
If there’s one thing I’d like to improve about my walk with Jesus, is that I don’t spend enough time alone with Him, but every time I do spend time with Him, He never let’s me down.
This is a verse that gives me great comfort. Of all the “masters” there are to serve, which of them offers this?
Matthew 11: 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Are you serving Him?
“Dear Lord, thank you for calling me to service. I long to do your will. You are changing me in more ways than I can imagine. Please teach me how to improve in serving you so that I may do the work you’ve given me and bring glory to you. Thank you for working in my life.”
Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash