“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 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 20:26-28 (NIV).
The background of this passage is the disciples arguing over who was the greatest. What did Jesus say? His answer was: Do you want to be great? Then be a servant. Jesus explains that His whole purpose for coming to this planet was to serve. Following Jesus at its very core must include serving others. We share Christ's love when we tell others about Jesus, when we serve people, when we love our city, and when we help other people. To not take a role of serving as followers of Christ is to miss the point.
Serving God Feeds Our Soul
“Meanwhile his disciples urged him, ‘Rabbi, eat something.’ But He said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you know nothing about.’ Then His disciples said to each other, ‘Could someone have brought Him food?’ ‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.’ John 4:31-34 (NIV).
Jesus says: I have food to eat. The disciples are confused by this because they didn't see Jesus eat anything. They wondered if someone brought Him food. Maybe someone shared some kind of meal with Him. But Jesus tries to explain to them that His food, His nourishment was something else. Most people mainly think about themselves: I need to be fed, I need to be filled. But Jesus said what actually filled Me is to help others. What nourishes Me is to invest in the lives of others, to do the work of God, to finish the task He has for Me. I have food you don't know about. Jesus says: What fills Me is doing the work of God and helping others.
When you do what God wants you to do, it's like eating a great meal. One of Alta Lynn’s and my favorite thing to do is to have a great meal when we celebrate something. There were some amazing meals along the way. I usually order something like Red Snapper with some kind of great sauce and then we have some amazing dessert. When you have a really good meal you just enjoy it. We all love a really good meal whether it's at some fancy restaurant or Taco Villa. When you obey God and His will, and you participate in what He's doing in the world–it's a great meal. It brings you health and life and energy.
Disciples were all about consuming. Jesus wasn't concerned with that. Jesus was concerned with contributing. When He contributed into the lives of others–that nourished Him in a way that is beyond our ability to understand. Because by nature, we are self-centered and selfish–our focus is us. Whenever there's a group picture there might be 15 people in the picture but who do I look for first? Me. And If I look bad, then that's a bad picture. If I look good and 14 other people look bad–it's a good picture. Jesus is saying: It can't be all about me. It's not about what I want. It's not: What will you do for me?
Be a Spiritual Owner–Not a Spiritual Renter
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17 (NIV).
At Crestview, we realize we are the church, and we exist for our city and the world. Why? Because we realize that the church does not exist just for us, because we are the church and we exist for others. It's the difference between being an owner or a renter.
There's a big difference between an owner and a renter. Ownership means commitment. Owner is: That's my church. Renter is: I go to that church. Owner is: You care about others because you are family. Renter is: I’m not going to engage because I might be here today and gone tomorrow. Owner is: I want to help my church be all God wants it to be. So I'm gonna do whatever it takes. Renter is: Somebody ought to do something about that. Owner is: It matters to me. I'll step up.
A Takeaway: Have a Spiritual Marine Mindset
At a recent Men's Breakfast, CJ Summers shared a story about his time as a Marine. He told how that once you were on base, if you walked by a piece of trash or something that could be picked up, or something that could be adjusted or corrected and you walked past it and didn't do anything about it–if any officer, gunny or anyone saw that happen– they would light you up. They would make it amazingly clear that was the wrong mindset and action.
The mindset was to be: Be part of the answer, be part of the solution. Don't think that somebody else ought to do that. That instead of saying: If you need something, let me know–our response should be instead: Here I am, what do you need? The difference between those two attitudes is immense. Whatever we do–little or small, we are to do that as if we were serving the Lord. So, when we serve other people–that will make an amazing difference for God as we share His love by serving others.
