THE GREATNESS OF SERVITUDE

The oxford dictionary describes servitude as the state of being a slave or being completely subject to someone more powerful. Matthew 20:28 ‘For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." Philippians 2; 6-7 ‘He existed in the form of God, yet he gave no thought to seizing equality with God as his supreme prize. Instead he emptied himself of his outward glory by reducing himself to the form of a lowly servant. He became human!’ TPT. Jesus Christ who is God came to serve humanity, he who is God and whom the universe serves came to serve. Psalm 119; 89-91. If God who is King of all kings, the one who controls everything, the one who has a covenant with night and day, and established the laws of heaven and earth, the one who commands the morning, the one who is our Lord and teacher came to serve, then my dear sisters and brothers who are we that we cannot serve? A man that cannot serve God and humanity can never be great. Greatness of the world is not the same way heaven regards greatness. When the world describes a great man, he has great wealth, fame, power, accomplishments etc but greatness without Jesus is futile, however greatness in the kingdom of God is being a true servant of Jesus Christ.

Jesus came to serve and not to be served. Can we be like Jesus and give our lives as a ransom for many? Can we live our lives completely yielded to God and making a commitment to do everything he wants us to do?  Whether it is taking care of the needy, or just giving out words of encouragement to those who need it. Jesus Christ came to serve us because he knew that the only way to save us was to offer himself as a ransom so that through his death we could have direct access to the Father and the Holy Spirit could come and live in us, if Jesus didn’t do what he did we would have no hope in this world. Thank God Jesus came to serve us.

We can never attain true greatness if we do not serve. How did man fall so low from God’s standard to thinking the real way to greatness is by being the head always, the one in charge, the one who is always noticed, the one with the big title, or the leader of the pack. It is good to be a leader but a true leader is one that serves. What type of leader are you? Are you a servant leader? There is a difference between a servant of Jesus and a servant of the devil. A servant of Jesus is powerful and great but a servant of the devil is a slave to sin and a slave to the circumstances that the world throws at him, yet Jesus saved mankind from this type of slavery when he died for us on the cross of Calvary, but with sin we place ourselves back in the position of slavery to sin and to the devil. On the other hand a slave of Jesus is a King sitteth with him in heavenly places, whose slave would you rather be?

God the Father sacrificed his son Jesus for us, Jesus was perfect, through Jesus sacrificial death the Lord provided salvation for all of our sins. God sacrificed the very best for us because of his love for us. Jesus gave his best in service, he didn’t serve in a wishy washy way, Jesus gave quality service. What quality of service are we rendering to God and to humanity? Is it an ‘I don’t care’ service ‘anything goes’ ‘anyhow’ kind of service. The truth is if we are serving and we are not offering our best then we are not really serving. Servitude to God means serving others by showing them the love of Jesus with the ultimate goal of winning them to Christ.

How do we serve others?

Family: your first priority in service to humanity should be your family. If you are seriously serving the church and your community but neglecting your family then you have missed something major. First lovingly serve your family.

Community: By helping out in any way we can in our communities, being a volunteer in a feeding project, helping to pay school fees for the less privileged children, and the list is endless, go out and serve the less privileged around you.

Church: Serve diligently in the house of the Lord, in any department that you find yourself in give the best service that you possibly can bearing in mind that you are not serving men but the King of all Kings.

Friendship: Being a true friend is an act of service, a true friend doesn’t look to what they can gain from the other but at how they can impact the other, you can be a good friend, a shoulder to lie on, praying for one another, visiting friends not just sending WhatsApp messages or phone calls, rejoicing with them and crying with them.

Sharing your talents; if God has gifted you with a special talent, you can share with others, by teaching others what you know for example a skill. You are not meant to keep those talents or take them with you to the grave you are supposed to teach others especially the next generation, so that such talents and skills can be passed on and used to touch and change lives.

Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ; when your eyes of understanding have been enlightened and you are privileged to know the truth in the word of God, you don’t keep it to yourself you share it with others that is the true essence of servitude.

Matthew 25; 14-30 in the parable of talents, the faithful servants multiplied the talents their master gave to them but the wicked and lazy servant hid his talents in the ground. The lazy servant didn’t amount to much but the only talent he was given was taken away from him and given to the faithful servant, the faithful servant however had an abundance of talents. The more we serve God and humanity the more grace God gives us to serve even more, and at a greater capacity. May we be numbered as profitable servants and at the end of it all may we hear these words from God ‘WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT’.