Ownership (Part 2)

Thomas A Kempis has pointed out that the Christian should, "Come to serve, not to rule." So often, people will come to a church to find a position and not to help support positions. Jesus said, "but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant." (Matthew 20:26) If you want to be great in the kingdom of God then you have to be a servant. This concept, in the world today, is something that is sometimes mostly unheard of. The world will tell you, "if you want to be great, then you need to put your needs before other people." The Bible says if you want to be great, then you need to put the needs of others before yours. A servant is one who expresses submission or debt to another. It speaks of ownership, specifically that we are owned by the Master, and we are here to serve Him. When we serve others we are actually serving Him. When Jesus came to the earth he came to serve, not to be served. Have you come to serve?

Ownership (Part 1)

Years ago, there used to be a popular shirt which said, "Jesus is my homeboy." At the time I thought that was funny, but it caused me to ask, "Is Jesus really my homeboy, or better yet, is Jesus my friend?" The Bible says that, "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24) I think there is a sense of responsibility, obligation, and even ownership in a friendship. When we become someone's friend we are giving them a part of our lives, and we trust them as our friend. One of the greatest examples of sacrifice is found in the life of Jesus. The Bible tells us that Jesus was a friend of sinners. It didn't matter where people were from or what they did as an occupation. He reached out to them and showed them His love. Jesus Himself made it very clear when He said, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you." John 15:13, 14 The question I have for you is, "are you laying your life down for others, or better yet, are you laying your life down for the Savior?" Jesus demonstrated His love for us by laying down His life for us and going to the cross!