A Servant of Jesus Christ

Jude 1
"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, [and] called:"

Jude introduces himself with a title that every Christian should possess. It is a title that requires much humility, and should be desired by every child of God. He calls himself a servant. Jude was the half-brother of Jesus! He could have said, "Jude the brother of JESUS! You know the one who is the Son of God? Yup, that's me!" But out of humility he called himself a lowly servant, and instead identified himself as the brother of James.

If you've ever done a study of the Epistles you will notice that servant is a very common title among the holy men of God that were used to pen the Bible. Paul used the title to describe himself in the books of Romans, Philippians, and Titus. James used it when referring to himself, as well as Peter in his second epistle. They were servants to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You see, servanthood is one of the vital steps to becoming on fire for God. When you realize who He is, the Creator of the universe, the one who has power over death, the only possible response is humility. God deserves your worship.

Joseph showed an extreme amount of humility. He worked as a servant to Potiphar when he was in Egypt. He wasn’t even supposed to be there! The man went from being in a well-to-do family, to now having to work as an overseer in the house of an Egyptian, for absolutely no pay! That’s crazy! He truly was an example of a Colossians 3:23 man, who did all things heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. As a result of his obedience to God, he became a leader of the Egyptians, and ended up saving the lives of his family. Humility pays off. If not here on earth, there will be a crown of glory when you pass them pearly gates!

Philippians 2:5-11
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Jesus was the most humble man ever to walk on the face of this earth. He allowed for people to mock and ridicule Him to His face, without ever saying a word. When He could have sent fire from heaven and completely demolished them, He remained humble, and allowed them to continue the beatings. A mind-boggling thought is this: That God, being in His glory, abiding in Heaven, King of the universe, loved us so much that He came down to earth with the purpose of dying on a cross to save sinners like you and I. If that doesn't make you want to serve Him, I don't know what will. (Another great passage explaining how Jesus was a servant to the Father is Isaiah 42. Read it when you get a moment!)

The last few verses of the Philippians 2 passage show the result of Jesus' humility. Because he made Himself low, God has given Him a name that is higher than any other. (There is a great post by Dan Phillips on the subject of the name of Jesus at the Pyromaniacs Blog. CLICK HERE to read.) God looks very highly on servants. Men and women who (as Noah Webster said in his old 1828) "voluntarily serve another". We are called not only to serve our fellow man, but to serve the One who has freely given us everlasting life.

As a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ you do all things completely according to His perfect will. Whatever He asks of you, you do without question. When people say that is "too hard" to read the Bible, or "too hard" to evangelize, or "too hard" to go to church on Sunday, they are not practicing true servanthood. We should never be found living in the filth that we once lived in. We, prior to our conversion, were controlled by Satan. Romans 6:22 says, "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Praise God that when we accepted Christ's free gift, we were adopted into His family and now have those chains of bondage broken off. My favorite hymn is "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley. I love the fourth verse, "Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; (This is the good part!) My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee." Our spirit was being pulled to Hell by our sin. We were prisoners to our own lustful flesh. But, GLORY, Jesus came down into our cell, His glory shining upon us, and broke those chains for all of eternity. Never again will sin rule our lives. We are to live as new, clean vessels for the Saviour.

Our chains have fallen off, and our hearts are free. We need to be humble servants to our King.