Scripture tells us that Jesus only did what His Father told Him to do. We are really no different. It’s absolutely essential for us to know what the Father has in mind for us. Because, you see, there is a vast difference between being a slave and a son. A slave never knows the plans of his master, only the tasks he’s expected to do. He has no future, and no inheritance. However, a son will one day inherit everything his father owns, so when he is commissioned to do something for his father, he joyfully does it because he knows it will benefit the kingdom that also belongs to him. Ownership brings with it a deep and abiding sense of fulfillment and purpose.
Servant
Mary Slessor
Blessed the man and woman who is able to serve cheerfully in the second rank — a big test.
Dana Candler
The truth is that we were made to abandon ourselves, made to give all in love without compromise. Innate in our makeup is dissatisfaction with half-heartedness and a yearning to love and be loved to the uttermost. It is the highest way to live, the most pleasurable and freeing existence for the human heart. The frustration we experience in apathy and the discontent we face in partiality it’s not something within us gone awry but rather a cry lifting its voice that is holy and God-given. We were created with this groan for wholeheartedness because God himself is wholehearted.
Philip Yancey
Jesus gave us a model for the work of the church at the Last Supper. While his disciples kept proposing more organization – Hey, let’s elect officers, establish hierarchy, set standards of professionalism – Jesus quietly picked up a towel and basin of water and began to wash their feet.
Lysa TerKeurst
I would rev up my Christian to do list with all manner of serving, blessing and giving others that kind of love I was so desperate to have boomerang back on me. Those are all good things. Fabulous activities. Biblical instructions. But when given from a heart whose real motivation is what I’m hoping I’ll get in return is not really love at all. That’s not the answer. Giving with strings of secret expectations attached is the greatest invitation to heartbreak. That’s not love. That’s manipulation, and it’s also unrealistic. Only audiences are trained to applaud performances. People in everyday life can sniff out the neediness of a performer trying to earn love. Their instinct isn’t to clap, but rather to be repulsed by the fakeness of it all, and walk away. No soul can soar to the place of living loved when it’s a performance based endeavour. Living loved is sourced in your quiet daily surrender to the One who made you.
Richard Wurmbrand
A pastor must be like a matchmaker who persuades a girl to marry someone else. He must be very careful the girl does not fall in love with him, the matchmaker. Likewise, the pastor must be a guide, enabling the believer to reach the Bridegroom. He must ignite a love for the Bridegroom in the hearts of the believers, so that after hearing one of his sermons, the congregation should not say, “How beautifully he has preached,” but “How wonderful Jesus is!” Remaining attached to the pastor and not passing through him to the Savior, about whom he preaches, can be a deadly danger for the believer.
Charles R Swindoll
Attorneys, doctors, counselors, physical therapists, dentists, fellow ministers, nurses, teachers, disciple-makers, parents . . . hear ye, hear ye! Fragile and fearful are the feelings of most who seek our help. Like tiny feathers, easily blown away in haste, they need to sense we are there to help because we care about them… not just because it’s our job. Truth and tact make great bedfellows.
Duane Elmer
Power is to be used in the service of others and only secondarily, if at all, for the benefit of oneself.
Ed Stetzer
Our world constantly preaches that you can do or be anything you want until it is offended at what you are doing or what you are. Then a switch flips, a mob forms, and the pitchforks are unleashed. Holiness is replaced by autonomy and justice by rage. In the midst of this environment, Scripture calls us to be people of the towel rather than people of the pitchfork. Jesus modeled this for us when he washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17) without exception or expectation. This was not a simple object lesson but an example of perfect service that reflected Jesus’ humility when he came to earth (Philippians 2:1-11). Jesus then asked his disciples to imitate him in washing one another’s feet. People of the towel grasp that Jesus wants us to humbly and lovingly serve others in every human interaction.
Dave Harvey
Your leadership is never about you. Leadership is always about the next generation. How can I leave them better off to bring revival to our next generation?