Ambassadors are Servants

Don’t exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men; for it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,” than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.       Proverbs 25:6-7 (WEB)

He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, “When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”      Luke 14:7-11 (WEB)

It has been exciting to study Scripture and see how the Old and New Testament connect together. Jesus brings the Scripture of His Bible to the parable. Jesus took what people may have heard recited in the synagogue and brought it into their lives.

Dinners were frequent and opportunities to show how important you were! Jesus describes the way seating at a dinner had a hierarchy. It seems that we could have walked into any dinner and identified who were the ‘A-list’ people by where they were seated!

Jesus was a servant and He taught and showed me how to be the servant of all. Jesus was repeating the wisdom of Solomon. As God brings opportunities into my life and I am identified as a ‘leader’ – that just means I serve more people. I am not to be served but instead I serve. There is a great book, The Jesus Paradigm, by Dr. David Alan Black, that would be a great study about this subject. We need to make a paradigm shift in our Church, fellow Believers. Following Jesus is truly following and not choosing only certain paths that are convenient, easy, and make me look good. It is when we walk with mercy and humility (Micah 6) that we find ourselves with Jesus and become His ambassadors in this world.