Serving from Strength

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:14-15)

In the world, the phrase servant depicts someone who does as he is told – whether he likes it or not. Jesus however redefined servanthood, and thereby raised the bar for service to a new and higher dimension. According to Jesus, a servant is one who does as he is told – because of the privilege and honour of the relationship he enjoys with his master.

A few weeks ago, our younger son was walking out of the car when I noticed his shoe laces were untied. I called him back and told him I needed to tie his shoe laces. I was dressed up in a suit and tie, but I was glad to bend down and tie his shoe laces.

What did I do?  I served him.

I did as we are told to do. I followed after the example of Jesus who“…made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant”. (Philippians 2: 7). I did it, not because I had to, but because I chose. I did it from a point of strength – the strength of our father-son relationship. I did it with gladness of heart.

If you are a born-again believer, you are no longer a servant of God. You are now a child of God. And as a child of God, you have the honour and privilege of becoming a self-willed servant of God – doing as He tells you because of the intimate and awesome relationship you enjoy with Him.

That is exactly what God expects of you and me: “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?” (Malachi, 1:6)

The next time God opens for you an opportunity to be a helping hand, count it an honour and privilege to take upon yourself the form of a servant.