For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and
sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use
your freedom to serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:13(NLT)
In the Bible there are 66 divisions called books.
Within those books are 1200 chapters, with more than 1450 references to
the word servant or serve. Something
that is mentioned that often demands our attention.
There are three words that are used to describe serving
in the New Testament. They describe a
progression of relationship to Jesus.
Minister latreuo
This word is the weakest relationship; it speaks of
legalities, as one who is hired to perform a service. Many people see their relationship to God as
dutiful, paying an obligation, our legal
responsibility to worship
God.
This is weak in thinking and theology. If God wanted people who were going to pay Him back he surely would look
elsewhere. How can you repay the cross?
Friendly Host diakonos
This is the next strongest relationship – the friendly host to Jesus. We get our word deacon from this word. It describes the one who follows after Jesus
to be a heartfelt lover of the Lord.
There are people who love the idea of doing something for Jesus. They go to church, give, even serve on
committees and boards. It is a nice
picture of nice people doing nice things in a nice way. As long as everything stays nice,
everything will be nice. However,
we know that this is not a nice world.
It is a world gripped and
ripped by sin. Not
everything in the church will be nice and ideal.
Slave doulos
Slave is the strongest word for relationship to
Jesus. It literally means bondslave, the person who has no choice with his own life; he is committed
for life to serve his master. Paul,
James, Peter, and John all referred to themselves as the slaves of Christ. This is the strongest word of relationship
because it requires the most bridges burned.
It requires commitment to
give yourself to someone.
The minister
(latreuo) is a hired servant, so he is there for what he will receive
in payment. The friendly host (diakonos) is serving because of favored
conditions. The slave (doulos) is there to lose himself in life-long loving
disposal to the Master's wishes.
Do you see the progression? It goes from receiving wages (weakest
relationship) to giving self (strongest relationship).
Now, the essence of our text can be explained in the
light of those three words. When Paul
said, ... serve one
another in love, he used
the word doulos.
The relationship is based on giving ourselves to one
another – in slavehood. He did not use latreuo,
saying we have an obligation to serve like a hired waiter. He did not say diakonos, indicating hanging-out with the brethren until the going got rough. He said, doulos; we are to be
slaves, devoted to each other, even as we claim to be devoted to Christ.
Notice three implications about this:
1. Those who consider themselves
slaves to everyone in the body are considered greatest in the body by the head
of the body.
and whoever wants to be
first among you must be the slave of everyone else. Mark 10:44(NLT)
A bunch of new recruits in the army were taking a
written exam. The sergeant noticed one
of the new men who was not writing. When
he asked why, the recruit said, Sir, I
don't have any paper or a pencil. The
sergeant bellowed, Well, MISTER, what
would you think of a soldier who went into battle without a rifle or
ammunition? The recruit thought for
a moment and answered, I guess he'd be an
officer! Some folks imagine that
servant hood is something for others.
2. Those who have compassion to
meet the needs of people rather than judge people are true servants
“Now which of these three
would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by
bandits?” Jesus asked. The man
replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” Luke 10:36-37(NLT)
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the true servant
of God's will was the man who put aside racial, economic and religious barriers
to meet someone's dire need.
Our Granddaughter, Chelsea is a doula, who gives herself in non-judgmental support of a
woman going through pregnancy and delivery.
You put your feelings, opinions and bias on hold and serve!
There are many people in our community who need the
ministry of this body. There was a
little boy in the ghetto who was having his faith in God mocked. His companion said, If God really loves you, why doesn't he take care of you? Why doesn't God tell someone to bring you
shoes and a warm coat, and better food? The lad thought for a
moment and then, with tears starting in his eyes, said, I guess God does tell somebody, but somebody forgets.
3. Those who have consecrated
themselves to serve the body will really be serving the Master
“And the King will say,
‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers
and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
Matthew 25.40(NLT)
When we help a needy person, when we offer food to the
hungry and drink to the thirsty we are actually helping Jesus. When we care for the forgotten of our
society, as Jesus did, we are actually loving Jesus.
In the 1999 movie Walking
Across Egypt[ii]
Ellen Burstyn is Mattie Rigsbee, an elderly widow whose children want
her to move to an assisted living facility.
In the struggle of wills Mattie meets Wesley Benfield who has recently
escaped from the county juvenile detention center. Mattie has been struggling with the words of
Jesus to do good to those who are the least
of these, and Wesley fits the bill – and thensome… being one of the
most troublesome!
In the process of reaching out to Wesley, everyone
around Mattie is changed. And while she
had been a serious Christian and kind-hearted person previously, Mattie begins
to experience firsthand the joy of serving others with sacrificial spirit,
going the extra mile. In short, she
begins to understand what it is like to serve Jesus by serving Wesley, an
obnoxious, profane, reckless and angry teenager.
And that’s what Jesus wants for us…be last, let your
actions speak, serve others.
Serve one another?
We can take that to heart in varied ways. We can serve each other like Salome' did for
the John the Baptist, serving his head on a platter. That's the world's way.
We can latreuo
one another like hired servants, just doing what we do because it is our duty
to do things around the church.
We can diakonos
one another like fair weather friends, being nice among the nice as long as
everything's nice.
--
or --
We can be Biblical slaves, doulos, committed to each other and this community,
filled with mercy, meeting needs, doing it with love towards the Wesley
Benfield’s, the least and lost, as unto the Lord.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
[ii]
Walking Across Egypt, information and pictures from Wikipedia
You chew on that as
you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day! 
