Are you God's Servant?

It is funny how there are certain words in the bible that we tend to see as special words that describe only special people at special times in history.

I'm thinking of the words that only Apostles, Prophets, Pastors and Evangelists and Teachers and special guys like that are supposed to use to describe themselves.

Not regular people.

I'm thinking of words like "saint," "holy man" or "servant of Jesus Christ."

Admit it, if someone today started talking like that about themselves you would look for either a halo over their head or a light blue hospital gown draping their body.

But in Romans 1:1 Paul calls himself "a servant of Christ Jesus" and in Philippians 1:1, he writes that he and Timothy are "servants of Christ Jesus."

He thought it was a great way to describe how he viewed his life as a Christ follower.

Maybe we are not ready to use the words themselves as self-descriptions in public like Paul did, but I do think the concept behind the words is very important, that it is not something reserved for special people in special times, and that we desperately need to see ourselves as "servants of Christ Jesus" today.

Many modern Christians have no idea what it means to live like a servant of Jesus.

The best way to describe their lives is that Jesus is their servant. After all, he does so many great things for them. He died on the cross for them, he saves them, he keeps forgiving their sins, he is there to listen to their prayers and to speak to them from the bible, and he will take them to heaven when they die.

What a great servant he is!

The bible itself says that Christ took the very nature of a servant when he became a man to save us from our sins (Philippians 2:7).

But God wants us to live as more than mere recipients of the serving work of Christ on our behalf.

The bible teaches that Jesus became our servant for a certain purpose. He did it all so that we would become his servants! He wants to transform our lives so that we no longer live for ourselves but live our lives extravagantly for the kingdom of God and for the needs of those around us.

He wants people who will wake up in the morning with words like this on their minds:

"How can I be your servant today, O Lord? How can I show my love for you? Who will you bring across my path today that I can demonstrate your love to? Here I am, your humble servant ready to serve you with all of my heart."

Personally, I've been using that word "servant" to describe myself for some years now, usually just in my prayers. Using that term gives me a sense that I am not just a mere man, but have a special assignment in life from God.

Do you know your special assignment in life?

I encourage you to begin thinking of yourself and describing yourself as "God's servant." The term, even if used only in prayer, can begin to transform the way you perceive your life and purpose.

Let's live as true servants of God so that our world is transformed just as Paul and Timothy transformed their world wherever they went.

--Pastor Jerry