Leadership through Servanthood

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Scripture

“He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
(Matthew 10:40 NASB)
“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
(Matthew 10:41 NASB)
“And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
(Matthew 10:42 NASB)

Observation

Jesus was constantly turning the world upside down by the things that He said. Now, He was telling the leaders what it meant to receive their eternal reward. Of course, they were thinking that it was all related to the high and mighty things that they may have accomplished in their lifetime. Instead, Jesus turned it all around and told them that it boiled down to doing things like giving a simple cup of water to little children. How could that be important to these priestly leaders? They had other people that could do that for them. They also most certainly did not want to accept Jesus Christ, and yet He said that was part of the deal. They needed to accept Jesus for who He was, and in doing so, would receive the Father -- the One who had sent Him. This was not what they wanted to hear. It didn't fit their paradigm of Leadership.

Application

Jesus is still pushing us out of our mold today and encouraging us to turn the world upside down. We are to seek Him with all of our hearts. We are to desire to live for Him and to serve Him in everything that we do. Our job is to know Him with all of our being and to allow Him to transform us from the inside out. In the process we are to become Jesus to a hurt and dying world. We are to help them come to know Him in a very intimate way; in the very way that a parent would reach down and give a cup of cold water to a hot and thirsty child. Let's allow Him to turn our world around, humble ourselves and serve Him and our world in all things.

Prayer

Lord, please help me to take advantage of the moments in which I can be a servant leader. Amen.

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