The Greatness of Servanthood

“Train yourself to serve God … serving God helps you in every way by bringing you blessing in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7b-8

Servanthood is not God’s way to get us to the place where we will only be served; it is both the way and the life of the kingdom of God.

Jesus is without ambiguity when He tells us that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except by Him [John 14:6]. His invitation is to join an revolution. If we choose to follow Him, there will be within us a transformation of the soul. He will do nothing less than translate us from a kingdom of emptiness into His kingdom where we will begin to live in a new reality.

The way of God is the path of servanthood. This is not a test to see if we deserve better. It is God offering us the best of Himself and the best of life. God calls us to be servants because God is a servant.

God stands alone as Creator and Redeemer. He also stands there as Servant. He created us to be creative. He invites us to reconcile men to Himself. He also calls us to choose the path of servanthood. This is not about religion; it is about revolution [Galatians 5:1-6].

On this journey we discover that not only does humility lead to integrity and integrity lead to courage, that gratitude leads to wholeness, which results in generosity, but we also will discover that faithfulness develops perseverance, which grows us in wisdom. As we grow in humility, gratitude, and faithfulness, we find ourselves with the strength of character to endure the greatest hardships and overcome our greatest challenges. Our capacity to be resilient will increase as we journey deeper into these virtues. When we are resilient, we have an inexplicable capacity to recover from illness, adversity, and even depression.

As we grow in integrity, wholeness, and perseverance, we find integration in our lives. In a world filled with brokenness, the capacity to integrate all the pieces of our lives is critical for our health. This is part of God’s promise in the work of transformation. The ultimate end of character transformation is not freedom from sin, but freedom to once again be all that God designed for us to become.

As we grow in generosity, we become generative and creative in our contribution to the good of others. When we walk in the wisdom of God, we see the hidden possibilities and opportunities missed by so many others. Wisdom always finds a way. It is the foundation of intellectual creativity and innovation.

When we fear God, we find the freedom and the courage to pursue dreams far too big for ourselves, yet courage is the only hope for great dreams. It is here where the synergistic interplay of courage, wisdom and generosity make us most creative. Once again, God’s gift to us is Himself. The character of God, the beauty of His personhood, the expression of His goodness, He longs to share with us. What would the world look like, what would we look like, if we became like Him? The One who wrapped a towel around His waist and washed His disciples’ feet invites us to become like Him in His servanthood. This is the ultimate destination, to become the person God dreams of and to share those dreams with others.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” [Galatians 5:13-14].