I have felt a higher calling of late.
My prayer has always been to have the heart of a servant. But during my study the other morning I thought, “exactly what does that mean?”
Yes, I want to be of service, but do I really understand what it means to serve?
So, I looked it up.
A Servant is one who serves, no big surprise here.
To SERVE is to be subordinate to, to act a secondary part under, to appear as the inferior of; to minister to.
To SERVE is to be of use; to answer a purpose; to suffice, to suit; to be convenient or favorable.
To SERVE is to be used by; as of a utility.
To SERVE is to promote, benefit, or be useful or beneficial too.
When I think of serving I think “what can I DO!”
Maybe I need to be thinking “what can I GIVE!”
I prayed that the Lord would give me a good biblical illustration of serving, of real servanthood. I had much pop into my mind…
But suddenly He brought to my mind Matthew 25:36-40
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked and ye clothed me, I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
The part I love the most about this section of scripture is the setting He described before He began this in Matthew 25:34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world?
This is the reward for the servant.
During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in a bind. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia if they would bring their jewelry of gold and silver to be melted down for their country. Each piece of jewelry he received, he would exchange for a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of his gratitude. These decorations would be inscribed, ‘I gave gold for iron, 1813.
The response was overwhelming. But more importantly, the women prized these gifts from the king even more highly than their former jewelry! The reason, of course, is clear. They were proof that they had sacrificed for their king.
There is a reward for the servant. But the key may be not in what we do for those around us, but in what we are willing GIVE to those around us.
