Jesus has been referred to as the Suffering Servant. Jesus declared that He came to serve not to be served. Being a servant and serving is foundational in the Kingdom of God. This is what Jesus said. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." (Mark 9:35 NLT). Not surprisingly the Scriptures have much to say about being a servant and serving. Serving is what servants do. A servant is who you are and so serving is what you do. Serving results in a benefit to others. The benefits we have are the result of someone serving us. Serving happens at a specific place, at a specific time, and in a specific way. We will be looking at the way serving is done in the Kingdom of God. There is a Kingdom of God way of serving that is different from the kingdom of this world's way of serving. Jesus followers are committed to serving Jesus and see serving Jesus as their duty. Scripture tells us that Jesus will reward His followers for their service. Jesus followers will understand that any serving they do in the way of serving in the Kingdom of God is actually serving Jesus. Loving and serving are linked because in the Kingdom of God serving is a demonstration of love. Therefore, serving in a Kingdom of God way is obeying the first and second commandments of loving God and loving neighbors. Serving is a good and honorable thing to do.
