Purpose: Created for Service

Purpose: Created for Service

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…”
– Mark 10:45

Service is another purpose of Jesus Christ as we can see from our reference scripture. With His own mouth he said He came not to be served but to serve. Now, isn’t that a contrast to the first purpose we meditated on in this series? Then, we saw that He came to lead. Now, we are reading Him saying that He also came, NOT TO BE SERVED, but to serve.

This underscores two things: Firstly, even as we have established at the outset and is unfolding in subsequent editions, all the purposes of mankind are exemplified in Jesus Christ. Secondly, Jesus was created to lead and to serve. That means there is no leadership without service; the two go hand in hand. But, considering this in a literary sense, Jesus came to serve, and so are many of us today.

Although this may not sound palatable, very few people are called to lead – maybe, using the 80/20 rule, about 20% of humanity are called to lead, while the rest people in the 80% bracket are meant to fulfil their own calling by supporting and serving those leaders in various capacities.

On the other hand, leadership is also contextual as one may be called to lead in certain places and still function as a subordinate or follower in another context. An example of this is in a church setting where the overseer is usually the leader. But there could be heads of government, heads of organizations and dignitaries in other setups attending that church. These are leaders of people in their own right, but in the church, they are subject to the leadership of the pastor, whereas, in their own calling or office, people are subject to them.

Meanwhile, there are people who are at home receiving orders from others and being told what to do. There are people who would feel extremely frustrated when put in a pole position with the responsibility of leading and directing others. There are people who derive great joy from working behind the scenes as part of a leader’s support system, making him or her look great to the world. If any of these describes you, perhaps, you are called to serve.

Service is a blessed calling (Acts 20:35). The key is to be true to yourself and do your best to fulfil your calling, because God will not bless you or demand accountability from you based on the title of your calling but on account of what you do with it.

Many people are deluded about their calling, holding that they are meant to lead others; whereas they are better suited to serving a leader whose assignment resonates with their own inclination. Most people in this situation end up doing nothing and leaving no imprint whatsoever anywhere. That will not be your portion. If you are persuaded that your calling is in service, be it to a leader or to the society through community service, then start to do something about it right away. If you are already doing something, then please keep doing it.

You will succeed in Jesus’ Name!

 Also, read:

• Purpose: Called to Preach the Gospel
• God’s Holding Patterns
• The Love of God Washed Over Me Like a Tsunami