Twenty Six Days of Advent - "S" - "Sacrificial Servant Savior"

December 18, 2013 “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Sheep are very helpless and dumb animals. A shepherd “serves” the sheep of his flock in every way. We are like sheep in many ways. Psalm 100 says, “We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.” The plan of the Father was that Jesus would be our Sacrificial Savior and Servant Shepherd. In Hebrews 13:20, Jesus was called the “Great Shepherd.” He was the great Shepherd because He was a “Good Shepherd,” (Eze. 34:11-16). There may have been many “good” shepherds, but Jesus is the “Great Shepherd” because He loves His sheep like no other shepherd could. He is the” “Chief Shepherd (I Peter 5:4). When we were going astray He drew us back - He is the Guardian Shepherd of our souls (I Peter 2:25). He cares for them and protects them like no other shepherd could. Verses 11,12 and 16 says that He searches for His lost sheep until He finds them – He doesn’t give up. He saves them out of thick darkness, where they can’t see where they are going. He will bandage the hurt and the crippled and strengthen the weak and the sick. The “good Shepherd” sacrifices his own convenience and even His life for his sheep (Jn.10:15). He makes his sheep to feed in bountiful places and lie down in safe places. Psalm 23 shows us the picture of a personal Shepherd (“my” shepherd), a perfect shepherd. This is a picture of Jesus, the Good Shepherd with His sheep (us). He calls Himself “the Good Shepherd” in John 10:11 and 14 – He lays down His life for His sheep; He recognizes His sheep and they recognize Him. He has a personal relationship with each of His sheep. As the Great Shepherd Jesus serves us sacrificially so He can be our Savior, even to death. Jesus is our Sacrificial, Servant, Savior Shepherd. He set the example and wants us to have a servant’s heart – to serve others with a humble, sacrificial love (John 13:14-15). In 1984 my mother came to live with us. She was 81 years old when she had a brain aneurysm, which she survived, but it left her a complete invalid. She went from one day being completely independent to the next day being completely dependent. She was in a nursing home in Oklahoma City for six months, where she was slowly and painfully dying from neglect. I determined she would not die there and after several monthly trips to check on her Wendell and I drove to bring her home with us. We made a bed for her in the back seat of the car and wondered if she would even live to get home to Marshall. She was in a pitiful condition and completely helpless, but was so glad to be in a loving, caring home. I have often thought about why God let her live, but I am assured God wanted to teach me a lesson in servanthood. At first mother couldn’t even stand on her legs so I learned how to lift her from the bed to the wheelchair. She was completely incontinent so I learned to diaper her, feed her, put on her make up, fix her hair and etc. I remember even giving her a perm in bed (I wish I had taken pictures). I had given myself, and our girls, home perms since we were teenagers, so I knew how to do it. I had inherited my mother’s straight hair, so undaunted I plunged right in. I spread the bed with a large shower curtain and funneled it over the side and down into a pan to catch the run-off. I turned her sideways in the bed and began with washing her hair, then curling it (that was the trickiest part with her lying prone in bed). After a rather lengthy procedure, Eureka! – Mother had curls! We were both very thankful for the end results. The perm was one of many prayerful, experimental procedures to help Mother heal, both physically and emotionally. She finally got strong enough to walk on a walker. She was able to come to the table to eat with us and she could go to the bathroom and take care of her own toiletry needs. The Lord heard our prayers for guidance and strength. It was a precious time for me learning how to serve and care for Mother. I never regretted one moment that I was confined because of her disability. I thanked the Lord every day for the privilege of “serving” her after her years of “serving” me and the rest of her large family. She gradually was able to go to church with us in a wheel chair and on her walker. Those were sweet days. Mother lived with us until her death at the age of 96. She couldn’t see because of macular degeneration, and she was nearly completely deaf and arthritis had twisted and distorted one of her legs so badly so she could no longer walk, but she never lost the joy of the Lord. Wendell and I were by her side in our home to care, pray and serve her during the long hours she was dying – what a blessing! Through those years I learned that serving others must come from a loving heart or it is not serving - it is duty. To love is to give of yourself, just like Jesus loved us and sacrificially gave himself for us. The Lord also taught me that serving others is a humbling experience. You joyfully sacrifice your own time, energies, and personal desires to meet the needs of others. Serving is a rich satisfying experience with many rewards. You have no regrets when you serve with a heart of love (like Jesus). “Make me a servant, humble and meek; Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, Make me a servant, Make me a servant, Make me a servant today.” (Kelly Willard)