servitude | Daily Encouragement

“Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.” (Luke 22:27, New Living Translation)

The disciple of Jesus is a servant.

He or she is not a “servant-leader.” He or she is not an “apprentice-leader.” He or she is not “doing time” as a servant until something opens up at the top of the hierarchy. The pinnacle of a disciple’s aspiration is to be like his or her Lord; and the Lord Jesus is “among you as one who serves.”

This is so not like us. We desire the perquisites that come with leadership; or we see leadership as a reward for being a “good foot soldier.” But even leadership, in the estimation of our Lord, is nothing more than a greater opportunity for servitude; and “servitude” is to “service” as “being” is to “doing.”

Make servitude for the sake of being like Jesus your sole ambition as a disciple. Even in the kingdom of God, good help is hard to find! – Luther

Tagged discipleship, leadership, servitude, the book of Luke

May 12

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“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'” (Luke 17:7-10, NIV)

Today’s scripture reminds every disciple of Jesus of two critical aspects of our discipleship: (1) We are servants, and (2) our service in no way obligates God.

As servants, the end of one kind of service is the beginning of another service. Furthermore, as noted by the bible commentator Matthew Henry (1662-1714): “Whatever we do in the service of Christ, we must be very humble, and not imagine that we can merit any favour at his hand, or claim it as a debt. . .”

Such ideas are both peculiar and anachronistic to a society that esteems the quid pro quo; but as citizens of the kingdom of Heaven, we esteem and emulate our Master who, “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Service is our duty. To serve is to be like Christ. – Luther