Servanthood – 5^th June 2006

I recently visited Casa Re’om, the orphanage St. Matthew’s supports in Mozambique. It was a great pleasure and privilege to spend time with everyone there. I thought this week I would share some of the things that struck me and which we can probably all learn from.

 

One of the things that I’ll never forget is the wonderful model of servanthood that was lived out before us all week. Dorca one of the YWAM volunteers made herself available to us all week. She cooked for us twice a day, she cleared up after us, whenever we wanted to go out and needed help or an interpreter she dropped everything and came with us and she even washed our hands before meals. She was always willing and cheerful and never once did I hear her complain. That week, she worked long hours and saw very little of her one year old daughter (a sacrifice I would have found hard) yet she didn’t ever play the martyr and when we offered help so she could get away early she gratefully accepted, whereas sometimes I think I would have been tempted to make a show of staying on.

 

We were thinking about serving during lent and how Jesus came as a servant and here I was with a living guide to how it should be done.

 

As a mother I have plenty of opportunity to serve but have been heard to say on occasions, “Get it yourself, I’m not your servant”. I‘m less likely to say that to someone outside the family but often serving is on my terms and when I please. I know we need to put safeguards in our lives to stop us being too busy but sometimes is this used as an excuse to not serve in a way we’d rather not? Should we ever take time off from serving God?

“Now that I have washed your feet, you should also wash one another’s feet. I have set an example that you should do as I have done”. John 13

 

Talk to the Lord about your foot washing. Whose feet are you willing to wash and in what attitude will you do it?