Are You a Servant?

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper.  He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist.  Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. John 13:3-5

This was an act of service so humiliating that no Jew could be made to do it.  By washing the dirty, smelly feet of the men who would deny him, betray him, and abandon him, Jesus set an example of servant leadership that endures to this day.

Then Jesus instructed us to follow His example: You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.  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 for you (13:13-15).

Thank you, Lord, for modeling true humility and obedience even to the point of death, (Philippians 2:6-8). Father, forgive us for repeatedly disobeying your word in Philippians 2:3-5: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.

Lorne Sanny of the Navigators said, “You can know when you have a servant attitude by how you act when you are treated like one.”

Where are you serving today? Who has the Lord put on your heart to help? Are you willing to “wash the feet” of someone in need? Does your church have an opening for you to exercise your spiritual gift? Is there some mission field that God is calling you to? According to Jesus in Mark 10:43, the way to greatness is through servanthood!

We want to be like Jesus so let’s pray for a servant’s heart that loves and cares for others. 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). Paul D. Moody said, “The measure of a man is not the number of his servants, but the number of people whom he serves.”