Title: Are You Secure Enough to Serve?/ Topic: Identity

Today's Reading: Psalm 121; Mark 9; Mark 10

Scripture: Mark 10:41-45
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Observation: Human beings are wired to need and want recognition and admiration. Success and accolades boost our sense of value and significance. But Jesus said it's not really a heavenly value to accumulate the praise of other men or to be “top dog”. What is rewarded and cheered in heaven is a person who is willing to serve others; That person is considered truly great in heaven. Jesus demonstrated this with his life. He could have demanded money, position and the adoration of others for his miraculous feats. He would have received it too. But he didn't need or seek the praise of men. His strong sense of identity and mission allowed him the freedom to serve without feeling like he was inferior, or that others viewed him as that.

Application: I really believe that in order to have a servant spirit as Jesus said we should if we desire greatness in the Kingdom, we have to be very secure in who we are. We have to know we have great value to God in order to serve others. Without that secure sense of identity, serving others will make us feel that others think that they are better than we are, especially if they behave with arrogance toward us. Every time I read this scripture I remember the words I read in my mother-in-law's Bible: “You never know what kind of servant you are until someone treats you like one”. If we react to that treatment with anger and resentment or with the other extreme of an “I deserve this because I really am nothing” attitude, it reveals that we are not secure in our identity with Jesus. We are too dependent on what other people think of us. Every one of us should consider deeply how we truly do react to being treated like a servant and what that response says about us.

Prayer: Father, I know I still deal with insecurities in my life. Though you have haeled me a great deal, I still react negatively to people who treat me as if I'm “less than” they are. If I really understood my preciousness to you, I could blow off their insults because I would realize that their need to put themselves up by putting others down only reveals their own lack of a secure identity in you. Instead of reacting to them I need to pray for them. I want to be a great servant here and thereby also great in your kingdom. Help me to mature to that place Lord.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.