20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 “What is it you want?” he asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” 22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 10:20-28)
With more than half of our journey complete, we have been able to observe Jesus as our perfect example in the practice of the Disciplines of Bible Study, Prayer, Fasting, Worship, Fellowship and Creation.
Today, we turn our attention to the Discipline of Service. Here again we should strive to “Be like Jesus”. He set the bar for service so high that there is no way we can meet that standard without the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has a servant’s heart! If we don’t allow him to reign in our lives we find it very easy to seek to be served rather than to serve.
Please carefully read the passage above and answer the questions below.
Today’s Questions:
- Based on the passage, what was the priority of service in the life of Jesus and how does this compare to the priorities in your life?
- What are possible differences between performing acts of service and having a servant’s heart?