Jesus: The Servant-Hearted Worker We are Called to Imitate
Jesus came to serve.
“But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” -Mark 10:43-45
Jesus, our perfect and holy Lord, came to earth not to be served, but to serve. How important are we to Him that He would come to serve us? He is the one worthy of praise and owed our complete devotion and reverent servanthood. Yet Jesus, who humbled Himself to be born in a manger and die on a cross to pay our debt, came to serve. Let this move our hearts to utter humility in a life dedicated to faithful servant-heartedness toward others.
Regarding others as more significant than ourselves.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus...” -Philippians 2:3-5
The only way we can serve others (with the excellence to which we are called) is to act in surrendered obedience to the Holy Spirit by holding others in higher esteem than ourselves. Tenderly loving and genuinely serving them above ourselves—true selflessness—isn't always easy, but it’s what Jesus has done for us. Through his Holy Spirit, we can do all things, including putting others before ourselves for the sake of the Kingdom.
Serving others in the ways we are called boils down to intentionally doing the little things—those that are oftentimes unnoticed and overlooked by others—from deeds of integrity to gestures of service (especially in those difficult jobs and tedious tasks that no one else wants to do), and to dedicate thoughtfulness in prayer for others.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” -Luke 16:10
Jesus washed His disciples' feet.
Is there a more perfect picture of the Lord humbling Himself to mere servanthood than that of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet?
Jesus gently corrected Peter in telling him this was the way it was meant to be so that Christ could lay out a perfect example of total servant-hearted love.
“If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.” John 13:14-15
Even so, I feel as if I am so often like Peter—utterly astonished (and even in opposition, at times) that Jesus would wash my feet, die for me, and give me new life. I am the least of these, undeserving of being served by a perfect King. And yet, Jesus loves me and chooses to serve me.
This is where we are called as Christians. May we be humbled and enabled by the Holy Spirit to act in lowly service to others. In operating with an intentional heart of devotion—toward our families, our co-workers, our bosses and other authorities, our friends, the familiar faces and the unfamiliar strangers that God places in our path each day—may we always represent and reflect Jesus to others.
Let us be guided by the Holy Spirit to do the ignoble, unglamorous jobs and seemingly menial tasks; let us notice and extend hands to the brokenhearted and the lost; let us wash the feet of others; let us care for widows and orphans; let us serve, according to the will of God, without selfish ambition.
“The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” -Matthew 23:11-12
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