When the Lord calls you to serve, what do you do? Do you look behind you to see to whom He is speaking? Do you say, “Oh, no, Lord. Not me. Not me! Don’t ask me to do that!”? Do you do it, sulking and muttering the whole time? Or can you honestly say you do it joyfully?

Jesus said many, many times that those who would follow Him must be a servant. When His disciples quarreled over which of them had first place, Jesus rebuked them saying that whoever wanted to be great must become the servant of all. Jesus Himself washed His disciples’ feet. Washing feet was a disgusting, dirty job usually reserved for the lowest slaves, because people back then wore sandals and walked everywhere. After Jesus washed their feet, He said, “Ye call me Lord and Master; and ye say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you a example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than him that sent him.”¹ If Jesus was willing to take a dirty job no one wanted, why are we not willing? You are His servant and you are not nearly as great as He is. You should be willing to go early to church to help set up, change baby sister’s dirty diapers, and sweep the floor again. The key to remember is that we are no better than Jesus our Lord and that He Himself served. His ministry on earth was focused on others, both their physical and spiritual needs, not Himself. And He is GOD!! If anyone deserves service, it would be God; but instead He used His earthly life to serve undeserving humans.

Psalm 100:2 says “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing.” If you really read that verse, you may be tempted to run now before things get worse. Oh, I don’t mean the singing part. I mean the serving with gladness part. Oh, ouch. Maybe I’ll go hide now, too. Yes, we are to serve Him cheerfully. With joy! It is not just a duty, it is a sacred privilege. You were chosen to be God’s servant. The Lord God Almighty, who created all the heavens and earth, who grants you each breath, wants you to serve Him! People often think it is a great honor to work for some “great” individual—the President, a famous artist or musician, or a powerful company. But when is comes to doing the work of the greatest, most powerful being that exists, the Lord our God, what do we say? “Later,” “Do I have to?” and grumble, complain, “poor me.” We are to serve Him with joy.

And even the smallest most common chore, like doing dishes, can bring glory to Him if we do it joyfully unto the Lord.

Service is not always easy or fun. But this is what God asks of us. Considering that Jesus left His throne above to die a horrible death to save wretched sinners like us, can’t we just make this small sacrifice of joyful service to Him?

NOTE: ¹ John 13:13-16; All scriptures KJV

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