"Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Matthew 20:28
I Wish I Could Be a Friend Like That A fancy limousine pulled up to the apartment building. It was unusual for such a car to be in this neighborhood, and it caught the attention of two ten-year old boys who wondered over to it. A well-dressed man got out and made his way toward the entrance to their apartment building. One of the boys asked the man if he owned the car and why he was there. The man said he had rented the car to take his brother out for a special day. They were going to the park, then to a ball game, and then out to his brother’s favorite restaurant. The man then made his way into the building and soon exited pushing his brother in a wheelchair. He lifted his brother and placed him in the car, and they soon headed out for a time of fun. The young boy looked at his friend and made an interesting comment. One would have thought the young boy might have said, “I wish I had a brother like that.” But that is not what he said. Rather, he told his friend, “I wish I could be a brother like that.” Not to be Served but to Serve When it comes to friendships, we can take on a consumer mindset whereby we look to see what we can get from someone, or we can take on an investor mindset to see what we can do for someone. As the scripture passage above states, Jesus came not to be served but to serve. In essence, the example Jesus set for us was one in which He invested in people. The Goal As we seek to emulate Jesus in the way we live, may we live the mindset, “I wish I could be a friend like that,” versus, “I wish I had a friend like that.” Like Jesus may we seek to serve and not seek to be served, so that our lives reflect the love of Christ.
Steve Crawley
MD5 Facilitator