ADVANCE: A Revival DevotionalExemplo

Advance In Servanthood

Luke 9:46-48 speaks of a time when some of Jesus’s disciples debated who amongst them was the greatest. As usual, Jesus decided to give them another of his counter-cultural answers. He simply took a child - an individual that held low status in their society - to exemplify that to welcome the smallest is to welcome Him.

In other words, Jesus was saying that if we seek to be the greatest according to the standards of the world around us, we might end up failing to make our lives a place where He would be welcomed into.

The New American Standard Bible offers us an insightful translation. While the disciples are competing amongst themselves, Jesus tells them that the least is great! Not the greatest, but great.

In Matthew 20:27, Jesus tells his disciples that the one who wants to be the first, must become a slave. Jesus’ example of greatness was found in serving others.

James and John thought they were asking about great status alongside Jesus, but as Jesus points out, they didn’t really understand what the Kingdom of God looks like.

True disciples of Jesus are content with their allotment whether they sit at the most honourable places or humblest ones. In this upside-down Kingdom we get to be a part of, we trade “competing with each other” for “serving one another” and that is what makes us great!

Greatness in the kingdom looks a lot more like serving others than receiving accolades, and when our life begins to look more like servanthood - that’s when we will see advance.

Action Questions:

Is servanthood apart of your lifestyle?

How can you serve someone in your daily life?

Prayer: “Lord Jesus, my prayer today is that you would help me to advance in the journey of servanthood that you’ve called me into. Holy Spirit, you are welcome to teach me how to wholeheartedly serve the ones you love instead of competing with them. Help me to always remember that in your Kingdom we are made great as we serve one another. In Your name I pray, Amen!