Servants Serving
Scripture Reading: Luke 17: 5 - 10 (NIV)
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
Message: Servants Serving
Concept: Increase your faith through service
The apostles said, “Increase our faith!”
And this is from the gospel of Luke, the author of Acts, where we read about the early church
It is noticeable that Luke speaks of the “apostles,” where in other references and gospels the word “disciples” is mostly used
In this context, “apostles” refer to the twelve who were appointed to be apostles
Luke 6: 13 “he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”
So it is the twelve handpicked disciples that is saying to the Lord, “Increase our faith”
These words also serve as an account of what Jesus taught them… a reminder… in the sense of “remember what Jesus said when we asked Him to increase our faith”
And here’s the concept of Jesus’ reaction to their request: If you want to increase your faith, serve!
It is a powerful reminder that faith is not a fluffy concept that occupies our thoughts… faith is practical and is connected to actions
This is Luke reminding everyone in the early church that Jesus taught them that to grow your faith is not about philosophical debates or theological insights, it’s about service - the acts of being a servant
Servants are Servants - Servants Serve
Jesus answers with the metaphor of a servant or a slave
The Greek word used here is “doulos,” which is slave
Of course, our concept of slavery has changed over the years and that is probably the reason that “doulos” is mostly translated as “servant” today
Our idea of slavery today is that of “forced labour”
It was different with slaves in biblical times
Being a slave was more about belonging to a family - a family was seen as the wives and children of the master, and the slaves - they were included in what was counted as the extended family of the master
People who had nowhere to go would often ask to be slaves, and then they would work just to be part of the family
It meant more to be a slave and belong to a family than not be a slave and have nowhere to belong
Slaves served because they belonged to the family, not because there was someone with a whip driving them to hard labour like in Egypt
They served because they belonged to the family
They were only too grateful to be part of the family
They served because they were dedicated to the master who allowed them in
This is the image that was well known to everyone when Jesus talked about slaves serving
When we see ourselves as servants of God, we would do well to remember that the Master owes us nothing
We are the ones who are in debt to the Master
And we can just be too grateful to be part of the family
And that we serve because we are deeply grateful to belong
Posture of a Servant
That is why, at the end of a day’s work, we say: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”
We don’t say, “I have given some of my time or possessions to God”
We serve the Master with everything
We don’t insist on anything, because we are slaves
We don’t stand on rights that we think we have, but really don’t have
In politics, there is the saying that “ministers serve at the pleasure of the prime minister.”
I am serving at my Master’s pleasure
My Master owes me nothing - it is I who is in debt to my Master
And yet, this Master sacrificed his Son so that I can be part of the family
This Master invites me to sit down at the table today
What a privilege to be invited to the table as a slave
The only response I can have is to serve…
And the way to increase my faith is to serve
I am a servant, I am a slave, and therefore I shall serve!
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