30 March 2018

Servanthood

On this Good Friday we commemorate the ultimate example of service as Jesus willingly laid down his life for his family, his friends, complete strangers, future generations, and in total obedience to the Father.

This world is not our home and this life is not our own. As Christians, we are called to serve. You can not seperate service from Christianity anymore than you could seperate Jesus from God. They go hand in hand.

Being a servant means we give up our rights for others. For most of us that means we give up our wants for our children's special needs. We give up our dreams for our children's unique purpose.

Being a servant means we become less so our children can become more. We pour ourselves into our children, not to elevate them above us, but to give them every chance of health and happiness possible.

Being a servant means being obedient to God's calling for our life no matter what the cost. Jesus took his obedience to the cross, the cruelest and lowest form of execution anyone could stoop to perform. Genuine servanthood means we will be called to difficult days, where we are asked to do humble and hard things, but we do them no matter what the cost is.

Being a servant means we will one day be rewarded. While Jesus walked the earth he was 100% man, casting aside 100% of his diety in order to serve man and teach us how to live. The Father has given him the name at which every knee will eventually bow. We are not guaranteed our rewards here in this earthly life.

Being a servant is a matter of the heart. Our everyday service to our children with special needs is not a big heroic act that gets media attention and accolades heaped upon us. It is the small, uneventful, and continual showing up in the day to day lives of our kids that reveals the true servant attitude of our heart.

On this Good friday, we celebrate what service really looks like and are reminded of why we serve. The example has been set and our calling is clear. It is up to us to determine if we want to be called slaves to Christ.