Servant King

Hello Everyone!

     This will be not only my first summer driving but also my first time serving with Sonshine Ministries and to be honest, I couldn’t be more excited! I can’t wait to meet all of you and build awesome memories together.

     The topic this week (service) is so appropriate for what we are all going to be doing this summer. One of my friends once said that in taking on acts of self-sacrificial service we transcend commonness. Because of this what we do is not simply service for service sake but it is about finding our identity in Christ- its about who we are. Just as Jesus became a slave to all without any rights (as stated in the service chapter), we adopt an identity as a slave, not mere acts of service. This is so awesome, but my initial reaction to reading all of this was very different and I would love to hear other opinions.

     In journaling about this passage my first thought was that the key point that makes Jesus becoming a slave so incredible is that in reality he is a King. What is so remarkable about Jesus becoming a slave and serving as one is that in fact he is a King worthy of all the praise, honor and glory. Instead of claiming that right, he forfeits what he deserves and comes out of love, full of humility, to serve us and show us how to serve his children. If Jesus was actually a slave and performed the acts of a slave, what would compel us to follow him? Wouldn’t it be expected of a slave to do the tasks of a slave? It is precisely because Jesus is not actually a slave but a King that makes his becoming a slave so mind blowing Because Jesus is a King who came to serve, we trust that becoming a servant is what he desires us to become. We trust him and follow despite the hard tasks of serving as a slave because he is greater than us and that is what he did. We trust that becoming a slave will bring glory to God because we mimic his son who established the law of goodness and truth. I’ve just been coming to a new understanding of God as King of everything and it’s been so awesome to remember that about him.

I know that by nature I desire to serve myself but just as John 12:23-27 says, in fighting against this tendency I will find life. In denying myself and becoming a servant to others, I actually become more myself than ever and begin to see who God created me to be- more like him who became a servant. If Jesus can step all the way down from his heavenly thrown as a perfect King and creator to this puny Earth, I should certainly be able to humble myself from my low position to that of a servant. Out of my desire to be more like him I must desire to become a servant.