Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Greatness

Submitted by Sam Nobles
“For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as One who serves.” (Luke 22:27)


How do you measure greatness? The way that the Lord measures it, and the way the world measures it are vastly different. The world idolizes the rich, the famous, the beautiful, and the athletic. Celebrities are made of those who are willing to air their dirty laundry and flaunt their immorality. Serving one another is seen as demeaning in the eyes of the world. In contrast, the Lord utterly rejects the world’s standards for greatness. In fact, the Lord gives greatest honor to the one who serves most. The person who serves selflessly, lovingly, without complaining, and without looking for a pat on the back is one the Kingdom of God highly regards.

When Jesus and His disciples were preparing the upper room for the last supper, the disciples were looking for the best seat, but Jesus was looking for the best way to serve. Taking a towel and a basin of water, Jesus washed their feet (John 13:1-15). Jesus is the example of what it means to be a servant.

We Christians like to think of ourselves as servants, but we hardly, if ever, liked to be treated like one. When it comes to true servanthood we are tempted to adopt the world’s standard of what is important. When looking to Jesus as our model of serving, it is easy to see that it takes far more character to serve than it does to be served. The world will deem your importance by how many people you have serving you, but the Lord is more eager to see the number of people you are serving.

If serving others is a struggle for you, then it is possible that your heart has drifted from heart of the Lord. If this is your case, I encourage you to seek the Lord in prayer, and ask Jesus to give you the heart of a servant. Pray that the Lord would give you the strength that you need to follow His example of what it means to be a servant. I’m positive that if you ask for opportunities to serve others, that the Lord will be happy to oblige.

Scripture to Claim:

"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 NKJV)

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