Praise the Lord! I believe that all of us, in one way or other, have experienced the goodness of God in our life during the past week. Also, I am sure that none of us have left without experiencing the miracles of God’s grace and mercy in our life. God is merciful and compassionate in His nature and He expresses it in a way that can be noticed and felt easily while He cares for His people. King David experienced the goodness of God in his life and he testified about it, as it is mentioned: Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him (Psalm 34:8; also refer to Psalm 91:14-16; 1 Peter 2:3). Prophet Jeremiah stated: Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him (Jeremiah 17:7; [Psalm 40:4a; Proverbs 18:10]). The Lord God promised His presence, protection, and provisions to everyone who calls upon His name, as prophet Isaiah recorded: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10; also refer to Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9; Matthew 28:20). From the Holy Scriptures we can understand that even if one’s father and mother forgets/forsakes their children, the Lord will not forget or forsake those who call upon His name (Psalm 27:10; Isaiah 49:15; Jeremiah 31:20; Hosea 11:8; Lamentations 3:22; Matthew 7:11; Luke 11:13).

The reality of our existence in the world alone is enough to identify how much God loves us and cares for us. It is nothing but His faithfulness and never-ending compassion that sustains us, which is, in fact, the foundation of our existence itself. We are alive today because He is alive and He never changes but remains the same yesterday, today, and forever (2 Samuel 22:47; Psalm 18:46; 42:2; Job 19:25; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:8, 18). We continue to live in Him because He enables us to live in Him, as Apostle Paul preached in the meeting of the Areopagus: For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring’ (Acts 17:28). The Scripture teaches that

• • The Lord God Almighty is the One who created/formed us (Isaiah 43:1; Job 33:4)
    • He is the One who made us in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27)
    • He is the One who gave us life (Genesis 2:7; Job 33:4)
  • The Lord God is the One who chose us to be His people for Him (Exodus 6:7)
    • He is the One who called us to be a special people for Him (1 Peter 2:9a)
    • He is the One who called us to be a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9b; [Exodus 19:6a; Revelation 1:6b])
    • He is the One who called us to be a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9c; [Exodus 19:6b; Revelation 1:6a])
    • He is the one who called us to be a people for His own possession (1 Peter 2:9d)
  • The Lord God is the One who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9e)
  • The Lord God is the One who made us a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  • The Lord God is the One who sustained us so far (Matthew 6:31-32; Philippians 4:19)
  • The Lord is the One who gives us eternal life in Christ Jesus

We love God because He created us, He loves us, He cares for us, He redeemed us, He adopted us as His sons and daughters, He has given us hope, He gave us life in abundance, He has promised us eternal life, and so on. Our relationship with God emerged from the love of God that He shared with us. The Scripture points out that God is love and He is the One who loved us first (1 John 4:8, 19). The Lord God revealed to us and let us know what love is and He is the One took initiative to love us first. We love Him, honor Him, revere/fear Him, obey Him, and live for Him because He first loved us. As God’s chosen people, it is our call to love Him and fear Him and obey His righteous laws and decrees and commands. King Solomon wrote: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Fear God doesn’t means that He would be a terror to us who love Him and obey His righteous laws and decrees and commands. We His people do not fear God the way the world thinks, rather we love Him with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength (Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27). That was the reason Apostle John mentioned: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear … (1 John 4:18). However, God made it clear that He would punish the wicked and all those who follow the evil ways of their hearts, as God foretold through His prophet Isaiah: I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless (Isaiah 13:11; also refer to Proverbs 11:1; Isaiah 3:11; 13:11; Jeremiah 25:31; Nahum 1:3). We can learn from the Scripture that God warned His people in advance, saying: If you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength … (Leviticus 26:14-16; also refer to Genesis 3:24; Nahum 1:2-3; Romans 2:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:8). The Scripture is very strong in stating that God will not allow the wicked go unpunished (Proverbs 11:21). Jesus said: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

The Lord has blessed us with a didactic and edifying Scripture passage for our SftW meditation this week, which says: The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). This particular Scripture passage is taken from Jesus’ teachings to His disciples/followers. The main idea we could squeeze out from this passage is that it is better to fulfill by ourselves the responsibilities handed over to us by a higher authority than by asking someone else [most likely our subordinates] to fulfill it for us. We can find a similar idea elsewhere in the teachings of Jesus, where it states do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). During Jesus’ earthly life and ministry, He said in the hearing of the Twelve whom He chose to continue the ministry after His return to His Father in heaven and all those who were following Him faithfully that He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; also refers Philippians 2:5-8).

In almost all sectors in the world, whether it is political or religious or social or cultural or anything as such, most of the worldly leaders and so-called Christian leaders make their subordinates do the work they were supposed to do and take the credit of doing it for themselves. However, Jesus was different from them all. Jesus said, the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve … (Mark 6:45a). Unlike the worldly leaders, Jesus was keen in taking care of all those who followed Him and He dealt with them politely and compassionately. Jesus did not hide anything from His followers, rather, there was transparency, authority, and power in His teachings and He showed them how to live their life in this world as the children of God. Many of the worldly leaders consider all those who work under them as subordinates but Jesus called them as His friends, as Jesus said: You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you (John 15:14-15). This is the sign of true leadership and the best example of a strong master-disciple or superior-subordinate or Boss-staff relationship (tie-ups). While most of the worldly leadership is built around one’s worldly riches or possessions or positions or promotions or power or control or anything as such, the true and godly leadership comes through serving God and others selflessly and caring for those around us. Many of us may have noticed (or experienced) in our workplace that most worldly leaders take credit for themselves for the works their subordinates or followers did for a common goal. But Jesus credited His followers all that they labored for the Kingdom of God and He promised them that He will reward them for everything they did for the Kingdom of God (Psalm 62:12; Proverbs 19:7; Jeremiah 17:10; Matthew 7:2; 16:27; Mark 4:24; Luke 6:38; Romans 2:6; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 9:6; Revelation 20:12; 22:12). Also, Jesus never used to dissociate from His disciples or leave them alone, as many of the worldly leaders do, except the time He withdrew Himself to solitary places to pray to His Father in heaven. In addition, we can notice in the Scripture that He did not interfere with them in anything they said or did (for instance: Jesus did not ask Thomas where he was during His first post resurrection appearance to His disciples when Jesus appeared to His disciples the second time [John 20:24-29] or Jesus did not ask those disciples who were present at the Sea of Galilee about the absentees when He appeared to them a third time [John 21:1-14]). It was each person’s responsibility to obey and do what He taught them and showed them. At the end of the day if they fail to follow all that He taught and showed them, it is their fault and they indeed not only failed themselves or their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but they failed God Himself, the One who created them and sustained them and redeemed them and promised them eternal life.

Let us continue to discuss Jesus’ statement that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). Jesus said: For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves (Luke 22:27). Jesus continued saying: Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (John 13:14-15). Now, as His faithful followers, it is our responsibility and duty to do as Jesus taught us and showed us (John 13:15; also refer to Ecclesiastes 12:13; Micah 6:8; John 14:12; 1 John 2:6; 3:18). Jesus did not just claim or say that He would do certain things that He came to do or simply hand those responsibilities over to His followers to do it, rather, He carried it out by Himself and showed His disciples all that He did. For instance:

• • Jesus did not just tell the people that He can feed five thousand men (besides women and children) with a limited number of bread pieces and fish (in this case, five small barley loaves and two small fish) but He did it for them practically (Matthew 4:13-21; Mark 6:38-44; Luke 9:13-17; John 6:1-14).
  • Jesus did not just tell Peter and his companions to cast their net somewhere in the sea and that there will be lots of fish in the sea, but He told them exactly where to put and when they did so they had a great catch of fish (Luke 5:4-7; John 21:6)
  • Jesus did not just tell people that He can heal the sick but He healed them and showed them that He has the power to do so (Matthew 10:1; 28:18; Mark 6:7; Luke 5:17; 9:1-2; John 6:38)
  • Jesus did not just tell the people that He has power to raise the dead, but He raised the dead back to life and showed them that He has power and authority to raise the dead (Luke 7:11-17; 8:40-56; John 11:41-45)
  • Jesus did not say just for namesake that the Father pleased with Him [as He carried out the will of God in and through His life] but He literally did it as the Father commented that He is pleased with Jesus (Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; 9:7; Luke 3:22; 9:35; John 12:28; 2 Peter 1:17-18)
  • Jesus did not just tell the world that He came to give His life as a ransom for many, He truthfully did it and the world including you and I are enjoying its benefit in our own lives (Matthew 26:47-27:56; Mark 14:43-15:41; Luke 22:47-23:49; John 18:1-19:37; Romans 5:8; 6:10; 1 Timothy 2:5-6)
  • Jesus did not just say that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, He proved that He came to serve by washing the feet of His disciples (John 13:12-17; also refer to Matthew 20:28; Mark 9:35; 10:45; Luke 22:27; John 2:26; Romans 15:8)
  • Jesus did not just tell His followers that He would return to earth to take them to be with Him wherever He is. He, in fact, is literally about to return to earth in a visible and audible way to take the disciples to be with Him where He is (John 12:26; 14:3; 17:23; Hebrews 9:28)

Jesus did not invite people to Himself and said whatever He wanted to tell them, instead, in most cases He went to those people wherever they were and told them what He wanted to tell them. For instance:

• • Jesus went to John the Baptist and told him that He wanted to be baptized
  • Jesus went to almost each of the twelve persons and called them to be His disciples
  • Jesus went to Simon Peter’s household and healed Peter’s mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39);
  • Jesus intentionally went to the pool of Bethesda and heal the person who was helplessly lying there for thirty eight years [in fact, the person was laid there even before Jesus was born in Bethlehem] to heal him of his infirmities (John 5:1-15)
  • Jesus appeared to His disciples a third time while they were fishing at the Sea of Galilee to spend time with them [eating and fellowshipping with them] and strengthening them in faith before He returned to His Father in heaven

As we have analyzed and studied and meditated on the instructive statement Jesus made as part of His teachings to His disciples/followers, which states the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), let us try our best to obey and do the way Jesus taught disciples/followers, which is applicable to us also. As the mankind has reached the pinnacle of our modern-life-style and technological advancement, our behaviors are also changing constantly. In fact, we live in a society where almost everything is taken for granted. For instance, we have more options for not to work than to work; we have more options to make others work than ourselves work; and so on. As days are passing by, the human tendency is also becoming more and more evident to make others work than putting oneself in others’ place to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted in their care. People are also becoming more and more careless and more and more irresponsible in taking care of their own responsibilities. Ultimately, we have come to live in an age where robots are made and put to work in factories, companies, offices, restaurants, and even in the households (including three or four member small households).

Dear faithful followers of Christ, in the midst all such drastically changing society and contexts, let us not ignore the teaching of Jesus Christ and His commands to us. Hebrews 4:12 states that For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Therefore, let us try our best to fulfill by ourselves all that Jesus has entrusted in our care to carry it out. Let us labor for the Kingdom of God and let us care for each other and help one another. Jesus said: Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me (Matthew 25:40). Apostle Paul stated while he was writing to the believers in Galatia: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (Galatians 6:9-10). The writer of Hebrews stated: God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them (Hebrews 6:10). In the light of all that we have studied and meditated, let us Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). It is our prayer that the Holy Spirit would enable each one of us to live our life according to God’s will and for His purpose and to do His ministry the way our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ commanded us. May the Lord God Almighty bless us all! Amen!