Serve All
I met a young waitress a few days ago that was very bubbly and cheerful. At the end of my meal, I thanked her for her service and complimented her on her service. She told me that it may seem weird, but being a waitress was a dream of hers. She qualified it quickly saying, “I know it may not be much to some, but this was my dream”.
I believe that God’s people are called to serve. It is spoken of throughout scripture. Jesus modeled serving for us. I came across some teaching that Jesus did on serving – it’s very clear. Check this out….
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:33-37 NLT)
Jesus really clarified the org chart for His ministry, and I imagine there were some stunned faces among His followers. Jesus built the church from the bottom-up not the top-down. He inverted most org charts. He elevated the one who serves to the highest position. The other stunner He dropped on His followers was taking a child in His arms and equating welcoming a child with welcoming Him. Children were low on the priority list of religious leaders – they were in the background unless you were the parent. Jesus loved children and I think this was deliberate in this teaching moment for several reasons.
Children are innocent.
Children are real.
Children are somewhat helpless.
Children can’t give anything in return.
I think Jesus was reminding His followers and me that loving and serving others will likely NOT garner rewards from the people served. When I serve others, I’m serving the Lord. When I love others, I’m expressing my love for God. I believe God calls me to serve everyone without regard to their age or ability to reciprocate.
Pressing On!
Dwayne