Servant. What pictures come to mind when you say it out loud?
Maids in black dresses with white aprons, dusting the furniture in a large mansion? Cinderella scrubbing the hearth for her nasty stepmother? Jesus, with a towel wrapped around His waist, washing the feet of those He was discipling? Satan has worked hard to give us a menial view of servanthood. We think of it as distasteful; a job meant for someone else. Sure, sometimes we like to serve at church, where everybody can see us. Maybe we'll serve on the schoolboard or volunteer to bring a bag of chips to Bible Study. But actual servanthood? Not what we were made for. We're warriors, after all. The reality is, people have been honored to serve their sovereign for thousands of years. To work directly for royalty has been a symbol of honor and respect, almost since time began. Why do we consider it menial to be a servant of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the General of Generals? In our entitled worldview, we view ourselves as special, holy, and anointed with power. There is truth to this, but only when it follows our servanthood.
Jesus made it very clear that He came to the earth to serve. We would rather picture Him calming the sea, exiting the tomb surrounded with glorious light, or riding a white horse in front of an army of angels than kneeling on the floor with a towel wrapped around his waist, washing the feet of the man who would stab him in the back, so to speak, a few hours later. But this picture of Jesus could not get more real.
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 10:45 So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you." -John 13:12-15 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7 Jesus was secure in His identity under the Father, which gave Him both authority on the earth and the humility to serve those under Him. This was illustrated during His interaction with the Roman centurion.
The centurion came to Jesus and asked Him to heal his servant. Jesus said He would come to the house and heal him, but the officer had an interesting answer, one that perfectly pictured Jesus' relationship with the Father and ours as well.
But the officer said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have You come into my home. Just say the word from where You are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, 'Go,' and they go, or 'Come,' and they come. And if I say to my slaves, 'do this,' they will do it." When Jesus heard this, He was amazed. -Matthew 8:8-9 While Jesus's disciples were obsessed with the idea of a physical Kingdom in which they would co-rule with Christ, this gentile soldier understood reality. True authority comes from submission to authority. He knew who Jesus was and saw that He had placed Himself under the authority and leadership of His father. The officer recognized true greatness, strength, and authority when he saw it. So often we do not. Only when we are secure in our position as a servant under our superior officer (God), can we begin to walk in our calling as warrior with authority. There is an order to things in the Kingdom of God. We cannot skip the step of surrender and servanthood, of submission to authority, and expect to walk with power, courage, and anointing. It doesn't work that way. ...[He] made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name... -Philippians 2:7-9 NLT If Jesus saw fit to humble Himself as a servant, so should we.
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