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I like to browse
through the used book stores. There’s one on Spencer Highway
that I particularly frequent called “The Dusty Cover.”
Unfortunately, that also describes about half of the library
in my office.
I found a book
in the religious section there a few years back entitled Difficult
Passages in the Bible. It was good for me to see that
because I used to think that the preacher was supposed to have
every single Scripture figured out. Whether it was some
obscure vision of the Old Testament or some revelation in the
last book of the New Testament, nothing was supposed to be
difficult for him to understand or explain. But even the
Apostle Peter commented on Paul’s writings, “in which are
some things hard to understand” (2 Pet. 3:16). I just know
he had the book of Romans in mind.
And yet there
is a different kind of difficult passage in the Bible. These
are challenging, not just with respect to information
but with regard to application. One such Scripture is
found in Philippians 2:5: “Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus.” That’s hard for me.
The call to be
like Christ is no easy task. Peter gave instruction to follow
“in His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21), and Paul invited the
Corinthians to “be imitators of me, just as I also am of
Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1). But walking in those steps includes
an imitation of Jesus’ summation of His whole life’s work
when He said, “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). If you want to follow Jesus, you’re
going to have to become a servant.
Just how is a
servant made? What are the ingredients needed for such a
transformation?
A
voluntary spirit. Jesus was not forced into His role
as a servant. He “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:7). “He
humbled Himself” (2:8). No one did that for Him. No one
coerced or forced Him in this regard. He did it Himself. Just
as He said in the Good Shepherd passage, “I lay down my life
for the sheep...no one has taken it from Me, but I lay it down
on My own initiative” (John 10:15,18). Such is the spirit of
a servant.
God’s army
must be made up of volunteers. Yet, we sometimes look like
waiters in a restaurant who are serving only because we are
under obligation and feel like we “have to.” Service ought
to be viewed as the privilege of those who were shown favor by
the greatest servant of all, Jesus Christ. Without Him, our
spirits would be without hope.
A
selfless disposition. “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” (Phil. 2:3-4). Jesus certainly showed us the way in
this regard. He was not concerned with worldly goods or
fortunes; He didn’t even have a place to lay His head. He
put no stock in popularity or praise; He sought the glory of
His Father. Even on the cross, His focus was not on selfish
ambitions but on the very people for whom He was crucified.
In a world that
is so often racing to be first at the finish line, God’s
servants must place themselves last. Especially ought this to
be our attitude in our service to one another. Christians are
to “be devoted to one another in brotherly love,” giving
“preference to one another in honor” (Rom. 12:10). The
best way to do that is to dispose of self. It’s where the
footsteps of our Lord lead.
A
humble demeanor. Jesus existed in the “form of
God” (Phil. 2:6) yet took on the “form of a
bond-servant” (2:7). Further, “He humbled Himself by
becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross” (2:8). He did not consider Himself too important, too
high, or too mighty to stoop and serve. He just humbly
submitted Himself to be the sacrifice and the greatest example
of service for all men.
One reason I
love the hymn Make Me A Servant, written by Tim
Jennings and Matt Bassford, is the opening of the second
verse: “Make me a servant, take all my pride.” Jesus never
said of the task before Him, “isn’t there are angel who
could take care of this?” Neither is there any work of
service in God’s kingdom that is beneath your humble
submission. Those who do so are promised an exaltation from
God at the proper time (Jam. 4:10).
One of the pictures of the
redeemed in the book of Revelation is that they are “before
the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His
temple” (Rev. 7:15). Servant-hood is our privilege here and
our destiny there. It is what we’re made for.
Bubba Garner
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