Servants

Saved people serve people. This is one of the core values of NewSpring Church. Just last Sunday I saw a twitter report (and I don't remember the exact numbers) 3,000+ volunteers served 19,000+ people at our campuses on Sunday.

One of the things Jesus said about his followers is that we are no longer servants but friends. "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15) 

I know some people who are Christ followers who take this verse and use it to try to make church all about them - feed me, comfort me, meet my needs - when in reality Church really isn't about us (or me) at all. It is about reaching those far from God so they might know Jesus. And I believe to reach them, we need to serve them because serving someone shows them you care about them.

The apostles of the early church most often called themselves servants. Paul, Peter, James, and Jude all open their letters with greetings and designations as servants of God or servants of Jesus Christ. If they were servants, I want to be one too.

So what does it mean to be a servant. The term most often used in the Greek is bond-servant which means a slave. A slave does what he is told without asking questions. I believe that is what the apostles meant when they called themselves servants. They were saying I will go and do and be whatever Jesus Christ asks of me. I will not question his directives, I will do them.

Being a slave meant not bringing anything with you. The slave didn't supply his own tools or money to get the job done. The master supplied all that was needed to do the work and the slave provided the labor. That is also a big part of what the apostles meant. They didn't have resources to do all that was asked of them so they had to depend on their Master to supply it.

In our day, we have plenty of resources. In a way that is sad because we have come to trust in ourselves to provide all we need. I really need more of the servants heart. A heart that submits to the Master not only for direction but for supplying all the resources I need to do all he asks of me. No excuses. No wavering. No whining. Simply obedience.