“Life is like a game of tennis; the player who serves well seldom loses.” Even a casual observer of the sport knows that one must put the serve in play if he or she wishes to win the point. What good is a hard serve that seldom hits its mark?
Christianity also has a strong emphasis on effective service. If we hope for success, we must keep our service in play. Arguing about who was the greatest seems to have been a favorite pastime of the apostles. They must have been surprised when Jesus described greatness in terms of service. Jesus said, “whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mk. 10:43-45).
We seek easy and convenient ways to serve; but Christian service often involves hardship and persistence. If Christ’s service led Him to the cross, why do we close our hearts to others when serving them calls for inconvenience? We like to serve an “ace” and get it over with rather than endure a long, sustained volley. Jesus endured to the end and so must we.
At the Last Supper, when all the apostles had either forgotten or had been too proud to take on the role of a servant to wash the dirty feet of their companions, Jesus rose from the supper and washed their feet. When He had completed the task, He said, “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them” (Jn. 13:13-17).
Does Jesus intend for His people to wash one another’s feet? If the need calls for it, by all means. But, it would be a tragic mistake for us to find, in this example, a way of avoiding self-sacrifice in our service to others. Jesus did not intend for us to wash one another’s feet in lieu of other acts of service. Instead, He taught His disciples the meaning of service by humbling Himself in their presence and showing them an example of what serving is all about.
When love finds its source in Christ, it will show itself in service. Paul writes, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10).
— Glen Elliott —