Being a Servant and Finding Our Lives

Loving God with all our hearts souls and minds and our neighbors as ourselves—the two greatest commandments given to us by God--entails that we will be servants. We will be slaves to all. As Jesus bent down to wash the disciples' feet he lowered himself. In lowering himself, he put himself in a vulnerable, nearly defenseless position. In the upper room he could’ve been kicked, spat upon or beaten by his disciples. He soon would be by Roman soldiers. In his life, we see that though he was the Lord God, completely almighty, he became human—he lowered himself (as Philipians 2 says) and did not lord it over anyone. It is really hard to be a servant, to be a slave to all. It doesn’t come naturally. And it is much more difficult for some of us than others of us. We can barely serve our own families. Being a servant is humiliating. It requires giving up our lives, losing the lives we think we want. But Jesus says in losing our lives we find them.