Jesus the Servant King

As we turn our eyes and hearts to the birth of the King of the universe and Savior of the world, it's appropriate that we meditate on His love for each of us and for the entire world. Today I want to recall a few Scriptures that hopefully cause us to thank Him and pledge anew to bow the knee of our hearts to Him.

The Bible says, "though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9)."

I hope you feel "rich" today in the grace of our Lord Jesus. I cannot even imagine the depth of what it means that Jesus was rich. But I do know that He left the wealth of glory to come to Earth so we could "become rich." He took our poverty, gave us His wealth, and made us a co-heir with Himself.

He also laid aside His rights as God and became a servant to the very ones He created who would take Him to His death.

The God-man became "obedient to death—even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8b)!" He laid aside all of His power to take our sins upon Himself so that we might have abundant and eternal life. He gave up His life so we could have a new life lived in pursuit of God's ways.

And in response, we're told to take on the mindset of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). What mindset is Paul talking about? The mindset of a servant who considers others more important than self.

When Jesus takes up residence in us, He wants us to mirror His attitude, desires, and lifestyle. He wants us to be givers to the point of having less so that others might be made rich in Christ.

From the top-down, He wants us to be servants to those under our authority. It's easy to give up and submit to those over us, but Christ sets an example of giving up for those under Himself.

He gave up His privileges as God to give His life as a ransom for many.

"... whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—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 20:26-28

So how are you giving so others can be made rich? How are you serving others in a way that displays they are more important than you? How can we give our lives as a ransom so that others will see, hear, and believe in the gospel?

Let's start the new year by asking our Lord to teach us and give us the grace to live out the attitude of Christ in a broken world. This is how the Church—the Bride of Christ—can submit to the leading of our Bridegroom and become servants for the sake of the gospel.

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