Articles
The Life Of A Servant
Disciples of Jesus Christ are known also as Christians, which simply means they are followers of the Christ. But they are also identified by other terms within the written word of God, with each signifying their duties, character, and their standing before God. Disciples are also known as saints, servants, believers, the elect, children of God, heirs, pilgrims, strangers, brethren, beloved of God, children of light, and members of His body. Again, each term has significance that should be understood as God intended it, and it is quite possible that we do not really understand our full responsibilities toward God and our fellow man if we do not know or understand all these terms.
With that in mind, let us consider one of those terms for today's study: servant. I think we all understand that a servant is one who serves. That's easy! But there are duties and some characteristics of a servant that we need to know, as noted within God's written word. These duties and characteristics are worthy of note because, understanding them, we may become better servants and more pleasing to the Lord.
A Servant Serves The Master. This would seem to be the most obvious characteristic of a servant, but we do need to say it. Especially when addressing disciples/Christians as servants, we need to be reminded, “that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15); so, if you're going to call yourself a Christian, that means you serve Christ, not yourself. Since “to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves” (Rom. 6:16), that means we are to obey Him, rather than seeking to please and serve self.
Paul reminded the brethren of Ephesus that, before we had become servants of Christ, “we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind” (Eph. 2:3) — we served our own fleshly desires. Now, as Christians, we are to “present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Rom. 6:13) — we serve God. As Christians, our main concern now is not what pleases me, but what pleases God. If we are going to claim to be His servants, then we best act like it!
This flies in the face of current trends in American churches, where churches are "seeker-oriented" — focusing on what pleases the crowds. It seems that, now, church leadership is more interested in sticking their fingers up in the air to gauge the winds of societal and community opinion to learn what pleases them than they are using their fingers to flip through the pages of God's word to see what pleases God. Now, we have many churches who plainly state they are interested in pleasing the crowds and, unstated, that their main concern is not pleasing the Lord anymore.
We could go further and talk about the 'worship' that is offered in many churches, but it is merely beating a dead horse to note that much of what passes for 'worship' nowadays is merely entertainment for the masses, and more about making the crowds feel good than saving their soul and expressing devotion to God. It is not the church of Christ or of God, but has become, in all reality, the Church of Self.
Let us be reminded that our service to the Lord, as disciples, is supposed to be about serving Christ, serving God, and serving our fellow man. If you are looking for a church that pleases you, or if you are asking, "What's in it for me?" instead of looking for what God wants, and looking for what you can get out of your so-called service, then you just need to admit that you really aren't a servant, after all.
A Servant Obeys The Master. This point was noted earlier (cf. Rom. 6:16), but do we really believe it? If we are going to call ourselves 'Christians,' do we understand and accept what that means? It means we do everything the Master commands! I know, again, that this seems to be a given, but I honestly think there is some sort of disconnect for some between the term Christian and the reality of actually serving the Lord and obeying all of His commands. It appears that many want to wear the name and enjoy all the benefits without having to do everything the Master has commanded His servants. We want forgiveness and salvation without repentance or obedience, it seems.
Try to imagine a household where servants are hired to do the various tasks in the household, but the servants only show up three days a week, only do the tasks that they believe are within their abilities and reject the ones they think are 'beneath them' to stoop to do. How would you rate them, as servants? How long do you think the master would keep them around? Yet many disciples today act in just that way, showing up to serve the Lord only occasionally, and only when they deem the effort worth their time or not beneath their view of self-worth.
Jesus once asked, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) That is a question we must answer! If we are calling Jesus our Lord and Master, can we honestly say we are doing the things He said we must do?
A Servant Does His Best. Servants are usually hired to do a particular task, and most will be either kept on or let go, depending on how well they do what they have been given to do. That is not surprising to anyone, but I again think men don't seem to think this same principle applies to our service to God. Some apparently think they can offer up halfhearted service to God and it be accepted because, well, because we offered it and God should be happy.
Again, we must be reminded, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). We should also be reminded our worship is useless if it is not done from the heart (cf. Matt. 15:8, 9). Yes, it matters how we serve, because God has always cared what we do and how we do it. Paul, in fact, used our service to God as the standard by which we serve our earthly masters [or, for us, our bosses and superiors]. Paul wrote that servants must serve “in sincerity of heart, as to Christ” (Eph. 6:5), and, “with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord” (Eph. 6:7). Are we giving our best?
A Servant Will Be Honored. Without a doubt, not all in the life of a servant is going to be pleasant or convenient or easy. But, for a servant of the Lord, it will be worth it! The wise writer tells us, “Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit; so he who waits on his master will be honored” (Prov. 27:18). For a servant of the Lord, this holds great promise; in fact, this is our hope!
Those who wait on the Lord have been promised great honor and glory — if not in this life, in the next. James reminds us “the crown of life” awaits “a man who perseveres under trial [and] “once he has been approved” (Jas. 1:12; NASB). Paul could come to the end of his life knowing “the crown of righteousness” awaited him (2 Tim. 4:8) for his life of service.
Are you a servant of the Lord? I truly hope you are! But please know that it is a descriptive title, not just a name we wear. Serve the Lord, obey Him, and give your best. A reward awaits! — Steven Harper
