Servant Ye Must Be Served!

​Have you ever felt drained or unappreciated for all that you do?  Or more to the point have you ever felt drained or unappreciated for all that you do in service to the church and community?  Youth leaders, do you ever feel the ministry is not going anywhere, that your work is never finished?  Elder, have you found yourself asking what difference am I really making?  Or Greeters can you relate to the feeling, it would be nice to be greeted for once? Perhaps the answer to this is not as far from you as you think.  Even the servant must at some time allow themselves to be served.

​At the time of the last super Jesus washed the feet of his disciples; a task given only the lowest of servants.  Upon completion Jesus says, “And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet” (John 13:14).  Jesus gave the example and then the commission;not only are we to be servants to others and one another, but we are also called to allow ourselves to be served.  

Too often we get caught up in the good works we are called to do, we forget to take time to allow ourselves to be served by others who are accepting their call to serve.  When was the last time you participated in, but not lead or managed a small group?  When have you been just a recipient of a keynote speaker at a retreat…a participant not a leader?  Where have you gonerecently, just there to be filled and to replenish?

Servants, you too must be served.  So many likeminded people have burned out over the years of serving because they never took the time to replenish.  Churches and charities have revolving doors of volunteers; they serve for a while then disappear.  Pastors get tired, elders quit, kids’ ministries fall apart, whole organizations fail simply due to burn out.  Jeremy Camp sings the song “Revive me”, in which he calls upon the Lord for revival “according to your love and kindness”.  I ask you, servant:  How can you be revived if you don’t take time to allow yourself to be served, letting the Lord give you what you need through the serving hands of others?  Again, I say, Servant Ye must be served.

By Christian Love