Saint Paul described himself as a servant/slave of Jesus Christ in Romans 1:1 - "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God..." and in Philippians 1:1 - "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus..." In doing so, he set an example for the early Christians.
This was not false humility. Paul knew he owed everything to the Master. Paul's letter to the Romans emphasizes the realtiy that it is only by the power and grace of God that we are alive, and it is only by His love shown through Jesus that we may inherit Eternal Life. Paul said we are called to be living sacrifices because it’s our reasonable service, our spiritual duty.
Paul was both humble and bold. He held a true and proper understandiing of his dependence of the Holy Spirit and his need of God's grace, and he was bold in his proclamation of salvation through the Blood of Jesus. He wrote, "If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10) In this, he exemplifies the true disciple.
A.W. Tozer wrote, "Jesus calls us to his rest, and meekness is His method. The meek man cares not at all who is greater than he, for he has long ago decided that the esteem of the world is not worth the effort."A slave has no rights, only duties. Yet the most lowly slave in God's household has higher status than the most honored king on earth.
How will you serve Christ the Lord today?
Related reading: Marks of a True Disciple; Humility or Idealism?; INDEX of Topics at Distinctive Discipleship
No comments:
Post a Comment