One of our challenges for 2015 is to learn and live all 50 commands of
Jesus. Jesus told us that following his commandments is a way to love him
and a way for his love and his joy to fill our lives (John 15:9-12). In
his Great Commission, Jesus tells his followers to make disciples of all
nations, teaching them to obey everything he commanded us (Matthew
28:19-20). So each week in this year we are learning and living one
command of Jesus. Here is our command for this week...
Week 32:
“Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants
to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many,” (Matthew 20:26-28).
Application:
What do you think it means
to be “great”?
Jesus’ disciples had a skewed view of what it means to be great. They thought being great meant having power
over others. They thought being great
meant that others served you and catered to your needs, wants, and desires. We cannot be too hard on the disciples. They were getting their view of greatness
from the culture around them. The
so-called “great” leaders of their day exercised authority over the people
under them. They were self-serving, demanding,
bossy, and harsh. Have you ever experienced
a leader like that? Was it a “great”
experience for you or others? Do you
really think of them as “great”?
Probably not.
The disciples were having a little power struggle of their own
when Jesus interrupted them with this command.
Jesus views greatness differently.
If we want to truly be great, Jesus calls us to be great at serving
others. If you think of all the truly “great”
people in the world, they were not out to serve themselves; they were out to
serve others and help where they could.
Jesus embodied this kind of servant leadership. If anyone had a right to pull the “authority”
card, it would have been Jesus. He is
the Son of the Living God, the ruler of all creation, the Lord of Lords. Yet Jesus did not come to lord it over us. He came to serve us. Jesus used his power and influence to care
for his people and help us physically, mentally, relationally, and spiritually. He helped us in ways we could not help
ourselves by taking our sin upon himself and winning our forgiveness and
salvation. It was costly and
sacrificial, yet Jesus willingly served us because he loves us. And he continues to serve us even now. How great is our God!
Jesus commands us to follow his lead in serving others. So … prayerfully consider one way you can serve today. But do not think small. Think great!
Think costly. Think
sacrificial. Think of humbling yourself
in love to truly serve the needs of those around you, maybe even those under
your authority/leadership. Who can you
serve? How can you serve them? When we take this command seriously, we find
that it really is a “great” experience for both parties involved.
Share your comments and application ideas…
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