Servant
On an aside today, a friend emailed me and noted her concern over my messy laundry room:) I told her I had spent the last three days cleaning from 4:00am to 7:00pm each day including the laundry room! I have been spring cleaning and it is exhausting, but I must admit it feels good to have things put away, organized and dust free (for at least this minute:) I love this friend and all my friends that hold me accountable to a higher standard of living:)
Anyway, on to today's blog theme: how do you feel about being a servant? I'm reading, Improving Your Serve by Charles Swindoll. In the first section, he writes about his initial aversion to the idea of being a servant. He pictured people with little opportunity or influence when he thought about servants. After further research he was reminded of God's idea of servanthood (pg.7):
"...in God's family there is to be one great body of people: servants. In fact, that's the way to the top in His kingdom" and he quotes Matthew 20:25-28.
But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
"It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
During the early days of Christianity, Christians were often put to death for practicing their faith, so they worshiped in secret places. A fish painted on the outside door of a house let other Christians know that they would be safe and welcome inside. The Christian fish symbol is now often used to identify Christians and/or Christian businesses.
Anyway, on to today's blog theme: how do you feel about being a servant? I'm reading, Improving Your Serve by Charles Swindoll. In the first section, he writes about his initial aversion to the idea of being a servant. He pictured people with little opportunity or influence when he thought about servants. After further research he was reminded of God's idea of servanthood (pg.7):
"...in God's family there is to be one great body of people: servants. In fact, that's the way to the top in His kingdom" and he quotes Matthew 20:25-28.
But Jesus called them to Himself, and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
"It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
The idea of Christ being a servant to men reminded me of the "loaves and fishes" miracle (Mark 6:39-44) and when he had cooked fish on the fire for the apostles (John 21:1-14). This then made me think of the fish symbol and what it represents for Christians. See the answer below.
The above photo is of fish in a pond in Oregon.
From the website: http://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-fish-symbol.html The Greek word for fish is "ixthus" or "icthus."...Five Greek letters form the word “ixthus,” and those letters inside the fish form an acrostic which is a message that Christians clearly identified with. The first letter represented the word Jesus. The second letter represented the word Christ, the next two, God Son, and the final letter represented the word Savior. This adds up to “Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Savior.”The above photo is of fish in a pond in Oregon.
During the early days of Christianity, Christians were often put to death for practicing their faith, so they worshiped in secret places. A fish painted on the outside door of a house let other Christians know that they would be safe and welcome inside. The Christian fish symbol is now often used to identify Christians and/or Christian businesses.
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