Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Mark 10:43-45 (NIV)

We must first let Jesus serve us before we serve Him.

He serves us by loving us and dying for us. We learn to serve with grace and humility from His "par excellence" example of service. Then our ministry and expectations are not tainted by self-interest or ulterior motives but sustained by grace and the desire to glorify God.

Unfortunately, the display of rivalries, competitions, and allegiances within Christian circles shows that we still have a lot to learn about serving as Jesus did. Our Lord tells us that there is nothing wrong with aspiring to greatness or significance, but everything in the Kingdom is so counter-cultural and contrary to what we see in the world.

In the kingdom, greatness is the willingness to be last and least and to act as “servants” to others. The willingness to serve without expecting anything in return or gaining recognition is what makes someone significant in God’s eyes. If the desired result or outcome is not achieved, there is no resentment, bitterness, or quitting. Why? This is because the true joy of service in Christ's Kingdom stems from your willingness to follow and serve Him.

As our perfect example, Jesus demonstrates that God is more concerned with obedience than with results. Faithfulness comes before fruitfulness. When we rely on external circumstances to fuel our faith, we will quickly run out of energy and strength to serve well and for a long time. The gospel, however, invites us to allow Christ to serve us and to let Him be our motivation to live our lives for His glory.

Learning to rest in Christ allows us to be divinely inspired by His Spirit who dwells within us to be and do more for others. Then everything we do is the will and work of Christ in and through us, not our own. Knowing our identity in Christ and faithfully living out that revelation gives meaning to what we do and blesses us with a rich sense of satisfaction and fulfilment when we obey and serve.