I was reading through something recently as part of a devo time that I was doing, and a verse that I have no doubt read hundreds of times took on a whole new meaning for me all because of one little word. Take a look:
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. (John 13:3-5)
As you can see from above, the word I got really pumped about the other night was “so.” This passage starts off with a declaration of Jesus’ power. Who he was. The Bible says that God put everything under Jesus’ power. Jesus would be returning to God. You’d expect that proclamation to be followed by Jesus’ rights.
Wishes.
Dreams.
But it’s not. It’s followed by the story of one of the most humbling (and humiliating) acts of service that could be performed by a person within the culture of the New Testament.
If you are a follower of Jesus and truly believe He was who He said He was and did what the Bible says that He did, then there is no doubt that in this situation, Jesus was clearly top dog. He was the big guy in the room. If anyone had reason and means to force His will on others, it was Jesus. Yet that’s not what He did.
Jesus used His power as a platform for service.
That’s a really convicting example to me as a Christian leader and I think just to all of us as followers of Jesus in general. Chances are that in one situation or another, we have a position where we have some power and influence. Our culture says that we need to use that to abuse those under us and take more control, more prestige, more money, more everything.
Instead, though, the way of Jesus teaches us that when we have power, when we have the cash, when we have the prestige and the eyes of everyone in the room, that we need to leverage that for service of others and service of the kingdom of God.
That’s just what you do when you’re top dog.
