March 9 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

In our language the word service is linked with business. "Good service is good business." The price for "professional services rendered" is usually quite high. But we never seem to feel that the word service is completely out of place on an invoice that demands payment.

Our habit of connecting service and business makes it hard to under­stand biblical language. In the Bible the word service means the kind of work a slave did for his master. He didn't get paid for it.

Just as we have trouble untangling "service" and "business," the Jews had trouble bringing the words servant and king together. A servant was a slave, and service was the work of the slave. But a king was someone before whom even masters bowed in slave-like obedience.

So when the king said, "I came not to have servants but to be a servant," all the values of the Jews were overturned. If we could bring ourselves to look at Jesus with new eyes, we would receive a similar shock. And this is exactly what we must try to do. We must always try to see him anew, as he really is according to the Bible. Our environment and upbringing may have distorted the image of Jesus.

This Jesus who came to serve rather than to be served is now calling all people to be his followers. Obeying Jesus' call means more than cleaning up our language and getting rid of bad habits. It means a total conversion of attitudes.

Service is the work rendered by a slave or servant. One may not expect to get paid for serving one's Lord. And if anyone feels "above" this life of service, he or she is outside the realm of Jesus. On the other hand, it is only in a slave-like, humble, obedient life that we suddenly discover the greatness of Jesus' company.

REFLECTION

What does being a "servant" of God look like in your life?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.