Ecclesiastes 4-6
2 Corinthians 12
“The greatest among you will be your servant.” Matthew 23:11
Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “…he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.”
Sometimes, we have it backwards. We think that we need to be biblically trained or get our life’s issues sorted out before stepping into serving. The truth is we do not need a doctorate from seminary to serve or have our life all figured out before serving. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. Why? Because He is the One who equips us to serve. It is reassuring to know that we do not need to have everything together to serve.
For 18 years, I (Brett McBride) worked in an urban ministry called “Urban Promise” in the inner city of Toronto. Each year, we would have young adults join us for either a summer or for a year or two years of ministry service. Many of them would be brimming with confidence, eager to charge up a mountain for Jesus. They wanted positions of authority and wanted to be in leadership. Yet, oftentimes, the pathway to that leadership experience was through menial tasks of serving afterschool programs and summer camps for children and youth who were not always grateful for the activity.
One time, we were leading a youth retreat up north that could accommodate about 90 youths, but we had 120. We were pushing the critical mass of infrastructure up there, and eventually the toilets started to overflow and back up. None of the young leaders were lining up for the opportunity to learn about the ministry of Jesus and what it means to be great in the kingdom except Kevin. He just loved to serve in any and every situation. Even with water ankle deep, Kevin and I walked into the bathroom and plunged away.
The more we empty ourselves of the desires for greatness in this world and descend into servanthood, the more we experience Christ, because that is where He is. King concluded, “You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.” From my time at Urban Promise, the young leaders who were the greatest leaders were the ones who came with a servant’s heart.
Almighty God, I surrender my desire and search for greatness. Instead, I ask for a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love to serve those around me. Thank You, Lord.
2 Corinthians 12
“The greatest among you will be your servant.” Matthew 23:11
Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “…he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.”
Sometimes, we have it backwards. We think that we need to be biblically trained or get our life’s issues sorted out before stepping into serving. The truth is we do not need a doctorate from seminary to serve or have our life all figured out before serving. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called. Why? Because He is the One who equips us to serve. It is reassuring to know that we do not need to have everything together to serve.
For 18 years, I (Brett McBride) worked in an urban ministry called “Urban Promise” in the inner city of Toronto. Each year, we would have young adults join us for either a summer or for a year or two years of ministry service. Many of them would be brimming with confidence, eager to charge up a mountain for Jesus. They wanted positions of authority and wanted to be in leadership. Yet, oftentimes, the pathway to that leadership experience was through menial tasks of serving afterschool programs and summer camps for children and youth who were not always grateful for the activity.
One time, we were leading a youth retreat up north that could accommodate about 90 youths, but we had 120. We were pushing the critical mass of infrastructure up there, and eventually the toilets started to overflow and back up. None of the young leaders were lining up for the opportunity to learn about the ministry of Jesus and what it means to be great in the kingdom except Kevin. He just loved to serve in any and every situation. Even with water ankle deep, Kevin and I walked into the bathroom and plunged away.
The more we empty ourselves of the desires for greatness in this world and descend into servanthood, the more we experience Christ, because that is where He is. King concluded, “You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.” From my time at Urban Promise, the young leaders who were the greatest leaders were the ones who came with a servant’s heart.
Almighty God, I surrender my desire and search for greatness. Instead, I ask for a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love to serve those around me. Thank You, Lord.
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