My mom has always visited nursing homes and Ivey went with her when she was in high school. Mom would paint the ladies nails so Ivey decided to help. Mom would rub lotion on their arms and they loved the pampering. This particular lady asked Ivey to put the lotion on her feet! Ivey was such a good sport and did. Then the lady said, make sure you rub it between all my toes!
Ivey was mortified when she came home and told me. It did not go like she had planned. We all laughed and I asked her what she did. She said, I rubbed the lotion between her toes. I still get tickled at this story. When I called to ask Ivey if I could share I could not stop laughing. She did not laugh at all and said sure. I laugh because I do not like feet! And neither does Ivey! Just sweet baby feet. What I am most proud of is that Ivey did not let that stop her. She went several times with my mother. And she always came home with stories to share. And I bet she would do it again! It reminds me of being a servant.
A servant wants to please God first and then wants to meet the needs of others or the person they are serving. If we are going to grow to be more Christ-like we must progress in the giving of ourselves in ministry to others. In order to be a servant we need to become lowly, meek and humble.
In our society, great men are the ones with authority, power and prominence. Jesus had all of that and gave it up to become a servant. Philippians 2: 7, "...rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness."
Philippians 2 instructs us how to have a servant’s heart. Paul says that we are to have the same love for others that Jesus had for us. He goes on to exhort us to “do nothing out of vain conceit,” “in humility consider others better than yourself,” and “take the nature of a servant.”
Philippians 2: 14-16, "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life."
Romans 12: 9-10, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves." We are to live a selfless life. Jesus told his disciples that anyone who would follow him would have to be willing to set aside their own ideas of satisfaction in order to follow the way of the cross.
Mark 9: 35, "Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.'" Jesus wants us to put others first. When we put others first we are loving Him. Hebrews 6: 10, "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them."
A servant does as they are told and does not rebel. They show respect and serve faithfully and quietly not worrying about who gets the credit. A servant wants to make the person they are serving look better and be more successful.
Jesus did not consider himself equal with God. He made himself nothing like a servant. He appeared as a man and he humbled himself and became obedient to death - death on a cross!! There are times we do not want to serve someone especially if they are not nice to us. We feel they do not deserve it. Never have I or will I deserve what Jesus did for me when He humbled himself and died on the cross for me. He is always ready to enable us to serve others and thankfully He is always ready to forgive us when we fail to serve.
Lord, help me have a heart like Jesus - a servant’s heart!
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