“THEN I ASKED, ‘WHO ARE YOU, LORD?’ ‘I AM JESUS, WHOM YOU ARE PERSECUTING,’ THE LORD REPLIED. ‘NOW GET UP AND STAND ON YOUR FEET. I HAVE APPEARED TO YOU TO APPOINT YOU AS A SERVANT AND AS A WITNESS OF WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN OF ME AND WHAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’” —ACTS 26:15-16, NIV
Appointed a servant. From the beginning of apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus, his role in life was defined. We know him as an apostle, an evan- gelist, a persuasive speaker, and a brave believer willing to risk persecution, pain, and death for the cause of Christ.
But first and foremost, he was a servant.
Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Many of us have eternal life, but do we have ABUNDANT life?
In teaching His disciples how to live an abundant life, Jesus taught two powerful lessons:
Love one another. Serve one another.
When some people think of a servant, they don’t think of someone they love, but of someone who does something because he or she is forced. It’s an obligation, or a job, or a forced service thrust upon weak, oppressed people.
But Jesus says, I want to show you a different kind of servant. One who serves by choice. And with love.
Without love, service is merely a duty. Without love, service eventually sours into resentment and bitterness.
It takes strength to serve with love. It takes strength of faith, strength of character, strength of mind. Never make the mistake of equating serv- anthood with weakness. Jesus was a servant—and He is the most powerful Being to ever walk this earth!
Being a servant truly is being the greatest in God’s kingdom.
“A Christian man is the most free lord of all and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.” —Martin Luther
