Self-mortification and servanthood

October 9 2011Self-mortification the prelude to true servanthood, and necessary to be spiritually healthy (Caution: You might not like to hear this)."For even the Son of Man (Jesus Christ) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:45 (NASB, parenthesis mine)Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself? Luke 9:23-25 (HCSB)Free time, holidays, summer vacation, spring break, weekends, retirement, most often we think of these as “my time.” That’s when we get to do what we want, indulge, spoil ourselves, live it up, or at least live a little. But have you ever considered that “my time” can make you spiritually sick? In fact whenever “me,’ “mine,” and “myself,” makes it to the forefront of my thinking, my desires, my dreams, and to what we want to do, we are already infected with what the scriptures call old thinking, carnal desires, worldly wisdom, and the love of the world (Ephesians 4:17-24; 2:1-3; 1 Peter 2:11; James 3:13-18; 1 John 2:15-17).Jesus made no bones about it, dying to self, suffering, and servanthood are what following him entails, what coming to him means. Not as we can fit it in, when it is convenient, or when we have some to spare, but rather as calling, a mindset, a lifestyle of faith, obedience, and worship (Romans 12).The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.”Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'" Luke 17:5-10 (NIV)Being a Christian and being a servant/slave are synonymous, one and the same, at least they should be, and a servant’s top priority is the doing of his or her master’s will, The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever 1 John 2:17 (NIV). The question then becomes whether or not I am serving, without doing so I cannot be like Jesus.Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did 1 John 2:6 (NIV).Are you a serving servant? Are you ready to bury “Me,” “Mine,” and “Myself?”To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans