Let him be your minister

Matthew 20:26

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister.

It is the natural and inveterate tendency of human beings, great and small, to be great. We want to be great among others. We want to be recognized, noticed, respected. Even if one has no desire to have leadership, authority, or control, we all desire to be loved and cared for by others. In other words, we want to be ministered unto. Here, the mother of James and John asked the Lord Jesus if her two sons could sit on the right hand and on the left hand in His Kingdom. And He asked them in return if they were willing to drink of the cup that He would drink of and partake of His baptism. This meant they would need to share in His sufferings through their own sufferings. They affirmed, “We are able.” But immediately thereafter, the other ten are envious of them because they thought they had some sort of superiority or favor above the others. But again, as His manner invariably was, Jesus crushed all their hopes and dreams by telling them that things are not how they first imagined. If someone wants to be great, they shall actually be the minister. The one who wants to be chief will be the servant.

Now, the question we must ask ourselves one and all is, am I willing to be a servant? Am I willing to be a minster? Am I willing to minister to others rather than be ministered unto by others? For this is the mind of Christ. Jesus did not come to receive the ministry of others; instead, He came to minister to others, and to give His life a ransom for many. Whosoever will be great, let him be your minister! Whosoever will be chief, let him be your servant! This is backwards, this is inverted from what our minds have been accustomed to believe. But this is the way of Christ. Do you want to be great? Do you want to be chief? Do you want to be respected, honored, and rewarded by God? There is only method for obtaining such things, and it is through the life of ministry and service to others. It must be willing, loving, caring service. We must not do it for our glory. If that it is the motive, the entire idea has been destroyed. We minister for ministry’s sake. We must serve for service’s sake. Oh, dear Lord in Heaven, give us this attitude! And please crucify within us the desire to be great and seen and uplifted! Just give us the heart of a minister and a servant, and then, we know, we shall be like Christ.

“Dear Lord, we thank you that when you came to this earth, you came not to build a name or develop a reputation. And it is very difficult for us to adjust to that kind of thinking. But, by the grace of God, may this mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus. Please, Lord, give us this mind of Christ—the mind to serve and minister in humility and love. And we know, beyond any doubt, that we will certainly be blessed in ways we have never imagined if we shall give our lives for others as You gave Your life for us. Work in us and through us this way. And we pray these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.”