The Only Way to Live

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“Jesus called them together and said,‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”—Mark 10:42–45 (NIV)

The benefits of following Jesus can’t be completely calculated. They’re more numerous than the human mind can count, much less imagine. But one of the most momentously life-changing benefits of being a follower of Christ is that it answers the question everyone eventually runs up against, “What am I supposed to do with my life?”

Prior to surrendering ourselves to the lordship of Jesus, we’re sort of like a rudderless ship in the middle of a cyclone without a compass! We instinctively sense our lives have a purpose; we’ve been “built” and have been set upon the seas to navigate them. And yet, we get tossed back and forth by the conflicting messages of this world that act as contrary winds—winds that blow us in this and that direction. Years, perhaps even decades pass, and we still spin round and round looking for our true meaning and destination in life.

Then we cross paths with Jesus and everything changes. Through Him, we come to understand what our purpose and destiny is. Confusion turns into clarity as we simply look to Him and see what His life was all about. In doing so, we find the direction that long eluded us. If you want to know what you’re supposed to do with your life, just look at Jesus!

That’s what we see in the passage before us here. To give a bit of a backdrop, Jesus and His disciples are walking together when two of them (James and John) ask if they can be promoted above the others. This, of course, doesn’t go over well with the others, and sparks start to fly. The desire to be elevated above others was one of those “worldly winds,” and the disciples were being driven by it.

Jesus heads this off and shows them how this wasn’t the way they were to live their lives any longer . . . not if they were going to follow Him! He flips their paradigm by telling them that in His kingdom, God’s kingdom, the way up is down, greatness is in being least, and the greatest glory is in being a servant! After all, when the King of kings and Lord of lords, the very Son of God, willingly devotes Himself to serving others, how can any follower of His not see that their purpose in life is to serve others?

If you’re a Christian, you’re a servant . . . period! Your life is no longer about you, but about being expended for the Lord and His purposes as He seeks to draw others to Himself. At first, that seems harsh and restrictive. Why can’t our existence just be about us and doing what best serves us? Well, that’s essentially how we were living when we were aimlessly storm-tossed—and it was horrible! Life was all about us; we lacked Jesus and His direction for us. What He has for us is infinitely better than anything else we could live by. And He reveals that the most fulfilling existence imaginable is to serve others, just as He did.

This is a radical but necessary step we need to take when it comes to growing in generosity. If we don’t see our purpose being rooted in the service of others, then we will always default to making everything about us. We won’t give of ourselves because we won’t see how essential it is to our identity and destiny as followers of Jesus.

Pause: What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in light of this passage?

Practice: Consider how you get blown off course in terms of your life’s purpose and how can you prevent this.

Pray: Lord, forgive us for forgetting that our true purpose in life is to serve others, even as You did. It’s so easy to be thrown here and there by the messages of this world. Keep us centered and led by Your example, and may it lead us to live more generously as we live in the service of others! Amen.