The Servant God

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)

We were made to love and to serve. We were made in the image of God. God is love, and love gives and serves. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The Son came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life for us.

Many people think that it is somehow demeaning to take the role of a servant. But the example of the Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that that is not so. He came expressly in the servant role, and even humbled Himself to the point of death on the Cross. This was not the lowest expression of His personhood, but the highest.

Being a servant does not demean us, it enlarges us. It does not bring us down into something, it lifts us up into something.

Jesus instructed His disciples, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant” (Mark 10:42-43).

By this, Jesus did not mean that we should be become servants so that one day we can be great leaders and no longer need to serve. No, the world thinks that way, and so do many Christians. But that is not what we are called to. Being a servant is not the journey to greatness — it is the destination. Taking on the role of the servant role is greatness itself, because it is in this role that we come to understand the heart of God.

We do not lose anything by being the servant of all. Rather, we come to understand greatness, and we become like our Father God, who is love.