Born To Serve!
And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to
them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be
last of all and servant of all.”
Mark 9: 35
In his short novel, Journey to the East, author Hermann Hesse
told the story of a group of men on a mythical journey. One of
the main characters is Leo, a servant who handles all of the
group’s menial tasks and needs, until he disappears. Without
Leo the journey falls apart and is abandoned.
Years later, one of the original journeymen discovers that Leo,
the servant, was the head of the League that had sponsored the
journey. He was a powerful and noble leader, but had exercised
his leadership by being a servant to others.
This fictional parable illustrates perfectly what Jesus taught His
disciples about leading through service. When Jesus discovered
the disciples arguing about which among them was the greatest,
He set them straight: The greatest is the least; the last is the first;
the leader is the servant.
It’s another of the paradoxes in the Kingdom
of God—the opposite of how the world thinks.
Instead of praying that God would allow you to
lead others, pray for opportunities to serve others.
Only in humble service are true leaders born.
"A Christian is a perfectly dutiful
servant of all, subject to all."
Martin Luther
