The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Servant Who Reigns"
Greatness and humility go hand in hand, heart in heart.
"Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant, even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:25-28).
From conception to death on the cross, the Lord Jesus revealed the character and nature of God. "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). This constituted absolute devotion to truth, including the loving courage to tell it. It involved wisdom and understanding whereby "never man spake like this man" (John 7:46). Mighty acts of power flowed from the Divine, as executed through the human. Ancient promises were fulfilled, and hope for the future blessed all who heard and believed. And, in terms of the subject at hand, true leadership as defined by God's nature and way shined its holy light of authority exercised through humility. Indeed, meekness was discovered not to be weakness, but rather as the very might whereby God governs and fulfills His eternal purposes.
"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
We desperately require the fear of God in order to begin our understanding and wisdom regarding proper response to Him (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). As our journey into His light continues, however, the winsomeness of His servant character will increasingly empower our yearning to honor and humble ourselves before His Lordship. Indeed, we serve a Servant, the Son who does all to please His Father, and of whom the Apostle Paul writes, "When all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (I Corinthians 15:28).
Before the cross, the Lord Jesus knelt to wash His disciples' feet in an act of sublimely beautiful leadership, as administered through service (John 13:1-17). On the cross, the Savior hung in agony, sorrow, forsakenness, and death to cleanse the inner temple of our being, thereby birthing former enemies as new creatures indwelt by the Holy Spirit. For all who believe, such grace means that a Servant within leads and empowers us to "walk, even as He walked" (I John 2:6). He declared such a quality of character as happiness: "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17). He should know, and He does. We must know, and we will as we more and more discover the nature of the God whose governance flows not upon the current of harsh arrogance, but of joyous lowliness. Such truth known and embraced changes us into the wondrous image of the Servant who reigns…
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
(Hebrews 12:2)
"Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of Lord."
(II Corinthians 3:18)
"Before honor is humility."
(Proverbs 15:33)
Weekly Memory Verse
The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.
(Matthew 20:28)
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