Called To Be Served

The mission of Christ was not to be served but to serve.

That lays a template for those who follow Him to likewise have the heart of a servant – not a volunteer.  The servant is at the beck and call of those who she serves.  That is why we call Jesus, Lord.  He calls the shots, we respond in order.

Yet in following Jesus and serving others, there is also an element in which as followers of Christ we are called to be served.

Follow me carefully.

Who did Christ come to serve?  A good theological answer that was deflective and self-effacing would say that Christ came to seek and save those who were lost and those are His target service group.  It’s deflective and self-effacing because we don’t want to point out that actually that includes us.  Once we are served, that is not the end of it – it is a lifetime of being in receipt of His service.

This might come across as a boon to the consumer culture that loves to put the customer at the centre of all things and serve to his whims and wants, but it misses the point.  The service with which Jesus serves us equips us to serve.  So on the one hand, yes we are receivers, and so we must take time like Mary to sit at Jesus’ feet and be served.  That is on the understanding that the service we receive enables us to get up and serve as we’re instructed.

The big deal here, however, isn’t for those who are lazy and want to be served.  The big deal is for the tireless, dogged, persistent servants who go all out to serve and develop a martyr complex about it.  They must suffer because they serve and all they can do is serve – not appreciating that in fact the first point of call is to be served.  Jesus doesn’t endorse the martyr complex at all because, ironically, it is self-serving.  It seeks to draw attention to how great a servant we are and how much we sacrifice ourselves to serve, which in the eyes of Christ profits us nothing.

It has been my pleasure to serve alongside people who give their all – go to the limit and beyond in service to others.  It is witnessing this in some cases, where I’ve witnessed the ‘secret’ to their successful service was taking the time to humble themselves before God and allow Him to minister to them – to serve them.  Times of silent reflection, times of peaceful restoration, times of exuberant rejuvenation all by the Good Shepherd.

The really neat part in this all is that Jesus chooses to serve us sometimes through each other.  So often times brothers and sisters in Christ (and also completely random ‘godless’ friends and strangers) are given to provide the service of Christ.  They have the ear to hear us pour out our frustrations.  They have just the trip to the cinema to help us relax and enjoy good company and hopefully a good movie. They have the meal that enriches our hearts as well as our stomachs.  They are often the conduit by which Jesus serves us.

Now if we’re too preoccupied being the martyr/hero who has to be doing the serving and thus neglect the help Jesus offers in service to us, then we actually miss out big time in understanding Jesus and how His Body functions.  That in itself can render the service we offer almost redundant, especially in God’s eyes.

It is worth reflecting on this as you carry on your service today.  It is worth reflecting on this and taking time out again to thank God for how He makes us lie down in green pastures, leads us beside still waters and restores our soul in the variety of ways He chooses.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

dmcd