The Heart of a Servant--Becoming Just Like Jesus

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:28). “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…” (Phil. 2:7). With these words to serve as a springboard for our study, let’s begin . . .

The heart of a servant; yes, a servant like Jesus, is . . .


Considerate and Kind
Paul said, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities [scruples—NKJV] of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Rm. 15:1). Paul is saying, we ought to help out one another. This past week has been rather a challenge for me. It’s as if Murphey’s Law discovered the Richey household and just did not want to let go. We woke up one morning to a tree laying across our fence and partially in the road. A service man who was to repair our air condition problem left us hanging once again. Emily’s van decided not to run this week. To top it off, I was forced to spend two days flat on my back suffering from a back injury. Thankfully, we had some folks looking out for us and helping us deal with our “situations”—Christians showing us how to be considerate and kind.


Encouraging and Uplifting
Our God was and is an encourager. He encouraged Abraham, Moses, David, and even the Gentiles in so much that they were ushered into the promise of salvation (Acts 9,10, Rm. 1:16). I was encouraged recently by this story: "Toward the end of Babe Ruth’s baseball career he played for the Braves. During a game against the Reds, he made several errors. In one half inning alone, his errors led to the Reds scoring of five runs. They lost the game. At the end of the game the crowd booed the baseball legend. While the shouts against this man were pouring down to the field, a little boy walked out and hugged his leg. Babe picked him up, gave him a hug and sent him on the way. The crowd was silenced." How encouraging one human being can be to another.

Our God is patient. He consoles, gives hope, and offers peace to those who have none. Here’s the challenge to you and me. Adopt these characteristics and see what they do for your life. In 1 Corinthians 16:15, Paul described an entire family that was addicted to the ministry of the saints. “I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,).” Is your family known as a family of servants?

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).