A Good Servant

[Jesus said] “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:26)

A good servant knows his Master so well he can anticipate his needs. He is right there when his Master wants something. In the same way, true disciples of Christ know him so well, that they do just what he wants even before he asks, and they are always be ready to respond when he speaks.

Jesus modeled this for us when he washed the feet of the disciples. Peter’s response was much like ours would be. God’s Messiah shouldn’t be washing feet – he should be marching into Jerusalem to claim victory, to free God’s people. He shouldn’t be on his knees with a towel around his waist. He should be sitting on a throne, with people kneeling at his feet.

Jesus told Peter, and tells us – if we don’t let him be your servant, we can have no part of him. This is who he is – God’s servant. And if we want to follow him, we have to do be a servants too.