But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Jesus lived all of His days in humble obscurity as a servant to all.* Think about that for a minute. From this place of lowliness, His life story came to a climax in being murdered in the most heinous of ways. This is not the campaign strategy of any politician or world leader in history. What made the difference? Many obscure men had lived and died on a cross during the reign of the Roman empire.
Fully God and fully man, Jesus lived the perfect life and rose to life again after His death, thus paying the price for our sins. These feats were not done by the effort of a man, but by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Despite the example, words, and repetition of Jesus, the disciples did not understand the work of Jesus in the way that they later came to understand it. Later they would see how low they must go and how much of the Holy Spirit they needed to empower them as witnesses.
Honestly, as we look at Jesus and allow Him to challenge our concept of leadership and discipleship, I do not always know what that looks like in my life. What does a life in our culture look like that seeks to serve all to the point of no credit and no reward?* Does it look like accountants, teachers, and politicians quitting their jobs and disappearing into obscurity? I don’t think so. Jesus took fishermen and made them fishers of men. Could God take accountants of numbers and make them accountants of men? What would that look like?
What does it look like for you to serve as a servant to all in the context in which God has placed you, seeking obscurity of self and the fame of Jesus?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to ask God to remind you of why He called you into the space you are in. Perhaps God wants to remind you of the powerful and beautiful lowliness He desires for you. Maybe God wants to show you someone to serve today.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 508–513, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 20:20-28) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).