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"The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve . . ." - Matthew 20:28
Jesus also said, “Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Paul’s
idea of service was the same as our Lord’s— “. . . ourselves your bondservants
for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). We somehow have the idea that a person
called to the ministry is called to be different and above other people. But
according to Jesus Christ, he is called to be a “doormat” for others— called to
be their spiritual leader, but never their superior. Paul said, “I know how to
be abased . . .” (Philippians 4:12). Paul’s idea of service was to pour his life
out to the last drop for others. And whether he received praise or blame made no
difference. As long as there was one human being who did not know Jesus, Paul
felt a debt of service to that person until he did come to know Him. But the
chief motivation behind Paul’s service was not love for others but love for his
Lord. If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated
and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of
ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no
amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.
Paul’s understanding of how Christ had dealt with him is the secret behind his
determination to serve others. “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and
an insolent man . . .” (1 Timothy 1:13). In other words, no matter how badly
others may have treated Paul, they could never have treated him with the same
degree of spite and hatred with which he had treated Jesus Christ. Once we
realize that Jesus has served us even to the depths of our meagerness, our
selfishness, and our sin, nothing we encounter from others will be able to
exhaust our determination to serve others for His sake.
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