this verse: "The son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" I have read this verse so many times but it was only recently that I came to fully understand what this verse actually means. Jesus is the one who serves us, not the other way around! I often think that I need to keep serving Jesus by doing different ministries, whatever they are, but in doing that I become strikingly similar to the man who leaves food out for his idol. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we should never serve Jesus by doing ministries, rather that primarily: Jesus serves us... you... me! Jesus is the one who does the ministry to you! Christianity is not about serving Jesus, it’s about Jesus serving you, for Jesus didn't come that you could serve him by doing x, y or z ministry, rather he came to serve you - minister to your needs! Came not to be served but to serve! How much does this change everything! You can go completely loopy/mad/bitter/frustrated/burnt out (take your pick) trying to serve Jesus, trying to be a good and faithful servant, thinking that Jesus is really great and you can please him by serving him! No he came to; he wanted to; he did serve you.
We live in a Christian culture that celebrates and adorns busyness. The Christian who is doing the most ministries = Christian that is serving Jesus the most = best Christian right? Wrong. It is striking how often we make this one little HUGE mistake, that service = ministry. We want to serve Jesus because that’s what we are told to do and so we do more ministries, we become spread too thin and we burn out. We can become bitter and frustrated about service and about God. We must first remember that the son of man came not to be served, but to serve!
What a strange religion we have.
