“Just as the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”—Matthew
20:28
When we are
born-again and become a “new creature,” (“Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold,
all things have become new” 2 Corinthians 5:17), it is our spirits that are made
new. It takes time for our “outward-man”
to become increasingly like Christ, (“Therefore we do not lose
heart. Even though our outward man
is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” 2 Corinthians 4:16). Jesus said if you want to become great in the kingdom of God then we must
lean to be servants of all, “And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone
desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.’”(Mark 9:35).
As a follower of Jesus, we are to serve others. Recognizing the principles of servant hood found in Luke 19:1-10 will
help us to understand how the role of servant
hood works our lives.
Then Jesus entered and passed through
Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector,
and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could
not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a
sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. And when
Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come
down, for today I must stay at your house.” So he made
haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw
it, they all complained,
saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to
the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I
restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house,
because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to
seek and to save that which was lost.”
Awareness:
Being aware of people, in our
surroundings, helps us to recognize opportunities for ministry. Jesus looked up into a tree and saw an
opportunity to bring salvation to a man that society had labeled a “sinner” and
not worthy of being ministered to.
Availability: When Jesus saw the tax collector, He did
not wait to make an appointment with him to come back later. He made himself available immediately to go
to Zaccchaeus’ home. Whatever may have
been on Jesus’ agenda that day did not take priority over the directive of the
Holy Spirit. We must not be so rigid in
our busy schedules that we do not allow ourselves to be available for God to
use.
Acceptance: Jesus went into Zacchaeus’ home and
accepted him just the way he was. And
this is the way Jesus accepts us and how we are to accept other people—just the
way they are.
Abiding: At the moment that we are “born-again”
the Scripture tells us that we are engrafted into the vine of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can
do nothing’ (John 15:5). Abiding in
Christ is the only way that we can find the resources necessary to serve others. And when we do, we are assured that we will
bear much fruit.
Abandonment: When we are truly serving others, we
abandoned our selfish ideas and desires so that the Father’s desires can be
expressed. “For I have come down from
heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).
Jesus
came, not to be served, but to be a servant
of all. He came as a servant who gave His life as a ransom
for many (Matthew 20:28). When we have
received Him as our Savior and then yield to Him as Lord, we, then become followers and our lives become a living
expression of the One who came to be a servant
of all.
Prayer—Father today I recommit my life to You. I ask the Holy Spirit to quicken me to be aware
of those who need Your loving touch. I
give myself to You so that Your life can flow through me to bring Your desire
into people’s lives, in Jesus Name. Amen.
