Jesus characterized His own life and purpose: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).What does it really mean to be a servant? If you think of a servant as some sort of person who is crushed in spirit, dirty and weary, a sort of human mule, then we are not likely to jump at the chance to be a servant. And if that has been your idea of what it means to be a servant of the Lord, then I have good news for you – that is not what God means by servanthood. That is certainly not what it meant for Jesus to be a servant.Look at what Paul wrote in Romans 8:28-29: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”Perhaps you have never thought about it like that, that God’s major objective is that each of us be conformed into the likeness of His Son. God wants us to become like His Son.There are many ways in which we would like to be more like Jesus. We whould want to imitate Him including His walk with God, His knowledge of Scripture, His prayer life, and His purity, but what about Jesus’ example of service?That’s how He characterized His own life and purpose: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). Jesus came to serve and to give! If that was true for Jesus, then don’t you think that is what God would want for us?But as we go about our daily life in our self-absorbed world, it is so easy to lose sight of that basic calling— I am here to serve, not to be served.Matthew relates an incident in chapter 20 where a mother came with her two sons as asked Jesus for a special favor for them. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom” (matt. 20:21). Like ...
