DEVOTION, SUNDAY, AUGUST 19, 2012
“In purpose and practice”
BY
PASTOR BOB COY
“For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45
(NKJV)
Few words can capture the character of Christ as
completely as the word “servant.” It really does define Him, both in purpose
and in practice.
In purpose, the Lord Himself tells us the very reason He
came to earth in the first place was not to be served, but to serve and to give
His life as a ransom for many. Quite literally, He was born to die on the cross
for our sins. And in so doing, He was serving us in the most profound way
possible. Christ was born in Bethlehem and dwelled among mankind for over
thirty years for the sole purpose of serving us.
In practice, we see a steady stream of servanthood flowing
from Jesus’ life. Consider this: Jesus never used His miraculous powers to help
or advance Himself. When did He use them? In every instance, He used them to
serve the needs of others. The sick, the possessed, the poor, and the
unwanted…Jesus served them instead of Himself.
If we’re ever going to imitate Christ, being a servant is
absolutely essential. No life can come close to reflecting Him apart from being
others-oriented both in purpose and in practice. When we wake up each day, we
ought to know our purpose is to serve the people God places around us. And as
we walk through our day, we ought to seize every opportunity to put this
purpose into practice.
So take stock of yourself. Is your purpose in life to
serve others or yourself? And when it comes to what you actually practice, are
your efforts and energies benefiting you or other people?
“For I have given you an example,
that you should do as I have done to you…a servant is not greater than his
master...” John 13:15-16 (NKJV)
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