Paul the Servant of God
Today we're starting a new series on the book of Titus, one of Paul's great letters in the New Testament. It's great literature, but more than that, it's the inspired Word of God, relevant to you and I, even now all these years after he wrote it. And so I hope you'll read it with me a bunch of times as we go into the words over the next few weeks.
Paul's Humble Identity
It begins with a greeting from Paul, and he introduces himself like this in the very first verse: “Paul, a servant of God.”
Paul would often call himself a servant. Usually he'd call himself a servant of Jesus Christ. Here he calls himself a servant of God. It’s the same thing in Paul's mind, because God and Jesus are one.
But it's an interesting way to see yourself—as a servant. In fact, the word that he uses is often translated as slave. But being a servant of God is not demeaning. It's not embarrassing, but it is in fact a noble thing.
Now Jesus used this language as well. John 12:25–26: He said “anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” And in verse 26, "Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will also be." To serve Christ, we need to follow Him. We need to walk in His ways. We need to obey His teachings and look like Him morally and in the way we treat others.
A Life of Service
What does it mean to be a servant of God? It means to do the will of God. How can we do the will of God? We can try to live like Jesus lived—loving people, bringing them into the Kingdom of God, offering them God's healing.
After all, Jesus Himself was a servant. Remember, He said in Mark 10:45 that He didn't come to be served, but to serve.
And so, like Jesus and like Paul, we are to live lives of service. In fact, Albert Schweitzer in 1913 sailed for Africa, turning his back on the fame and money and prestige that his medical career would have brought him, and began treating people in Africa when there was no medical service available at the time. One day on a trip to the United States, somebody said to him, "Doctor Schweitzer, have you found happiness in Africa?" And he said, "I have found a place of service that is enough for anyone."
My friends, you and I are called to find a place of service for God. Will you, like Paul, call yourself a servant of God above all, and humbly follow His will?
May it be. And if you ever write a letter to someone, may you start it by identifying yourself as a servant of God.
