Samuel Wright Ministries
Morning Manna: March 10, 2025
And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:27 – 28 Jesus’ lesson to the mother of the sons of Zebedee and the disciples is recorded twice in the gospel accounts, (three times if you count John 13:1– 17).
The kingdom perspective contrasts with that of the natural order, (the carnal inclination). The followers of Christ can emulate the Spirit of Christ by adopting His mindset.
We are here as ambassadors for Christ. Called to be illuminators in a dark world. Commissioned to be salt in an environment that is desperate for seasoning. The call can be fulfilled when we aspire to become servants. Various translations use the word slaves.
Our culture eschews the word slave. However, in the context of the scriptures, a slave is one who has been bought with a price. The price was the sacrificial death of Jesus the Christ. Our earnest debt to Him is to become bond servants (desiring to serve,
unable and unwilling to be free from the obligation to remain in servitude to the one who ransomed our lives.)
As servants, our attitude should be that of Christ first; the kingdom of God and the people before our self-interests. That is not to say that we don’t aspire, dream, work to achieve, or take care of ourselves. What it does mean is that our motivation to be great, to make a name for ourselves, to be served, must come under subjection to the spirit of service to others.
In this climate of self-aggrandizement, self-promotion, selfish ambition (especially at the expense of others), must be mortified according to the example in the scriptures. Jesus showed us the attitude that brings glory to our Father.
The Christ came not to be served. We are saved, not to be served. Perhaps we should say that through Jesus’ volitional life, death, burial, and resurrection, we have already been extended the greatest act of service! Since that is the case, ours is to look for opportunities to serve the one that served us, first by serving Him and His interests.
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. 1 Peter 5:6 NKJV
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