“…there Shall my Servant Be!”

God lives and works today. It's almost incomprehensible that He should want to have us close to Him as His followers and friends. But as we read in John 12, 26, where I am, there shall my servant be also.

Following Jesus isn't always easy, but it brings us a happiness which is beyond compare. Today's program by Basilea Schlink will share how a minister discovered this happiness when he took Jesus at His word. A contemporary theologian once said, the second volume of the life of Jesus must be written by His church, by following Jesus step by step along His way and testifying of Him to the world.

But where does this truly happen? Only where people follow Jesus along His way of humility. A minister once had a colleague who made life very difficult for him and who made disparaging remarks about him to the congregation. One day this colleague even insulted him to his face and then slapped him.

Later, the minister said that his first reaction was, this is going too far. Now I'm going to do something about this. I won't let him get away with this.

But then suddenly Jesus stood before his mind's eye. Jesus, the humble lamb that did not revile when He was reviled and that did not threaten when He was threatened and mistreated. The minister thought, how terrible it would be if I sought a different way than Jesus' way.

I would never be able to preach again about Jesus, the Lamb of God, who suffered silently and bore all the injustice that his accusers heaped upon him. So on purpose, this minister did not defend himself against his impudent colleague. Instead, he chose the way of Jesus' lowliness.

And then he discovered how very real the words of Luke 1 are, that the Lord regards the lowest state of His servants and that He raises up the lowly and showers them with His blessings. A short time later, his Lord and Master Jesus Christ intervened mightily in his life because He had remained faithful to him along his way of lowliness. The Lord gave him a new ministry, far better than the first, and He poured power and overwhelming joy into his life.

The experience of this minister should encourage and comfort us. It's true that when we go this way with Jesus and are prepared to suffer injustice and humiliations, we won't be spared suffering, sorrow, or sacrifice. It's also true that by nature everything in us rebels against giving up our rights and honors.

But our Lord Jesus has gone this way before us. He has blazed the trail and shown us the blessing and joy that will be ours if we give Him our yes. What a joy it would be for Jesus if He could find some among us who will choose to go this way out of thanksgiving and love for Him.

Then He, who is so often disgraced and forsaken by His own today, will receive gratitude and honor in the presence of the visible and invisible world. Oh, make me Thine, my Savior, Lord most holy, that I may only live to give Thee glory. Oh, make me Thine.

You have been listening to a program written by Basilea Schlink of the Little Land of Canaan. To learn more about how God lives and works today, visit us at our website, www.canaan.org. That's K-A-N-A-A-N dot org. If you contact us, we would be happy to send you a free inspirational booklet.

If you do not have access to the web, please contact this radio station for our postal address. God bless you.