Hello, and welcome to Tuesday’s Foundation Podcast. We’re asking the question this week: What kind of life? What kind of life does Jesus call us to?

We began yesterday by looking at how we, as followers of Jesus, are called to a life of surrender, of letting go, and give it all to God. Today, we are going to look at another of the great calls Jesus issues his disciples with – the call to serve.

REFLECTION:

Our reading is Mark 10: 32-52. Our focus verse for today is verse 45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is probably one of the most famous verses taken from the Gospel accounts. And one in which Mark, the writer of this Gospel, effectively builds his entire book around. Because for him this is the heart of God. This is who God is revealed to us in Jesus and what it means to follow him.

Throughout the Gospel accounts we see that a life centred and built on Jesus is a life of serving others. And like much of the Christian life, it sounds so straightforward but to actually put this into practice – significantly harder. As we say yesterday, there is a battle on. A battle between our old life and the new life Christ has won for us.

We see this in the passage also. Two of Jesus’ closest disciples, James and John, approach Jesus and request to sit at his right and left side when he comes into glory. To be given a place of prominence and power in this new kingdom Jesus was about to usher in. And it was a kingdom they believed, like many Jews, that would be won by force. However, as we see in Jesus’ predictions of what is to come, as he explains to his disciples, his way is not by might, by force, not to take, but to give:

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus shows his disciples the way. The way this new kingdom will be established. A kingdom built on love, of preferring others, to serve. Like the disciples, we too often find that this way of life doesn’t come naturally!

I really experienced this whilst doing our discipleship year at STC. We, as a group, went away on a mission trip to Sicily to spend time with a group of Christians who were led by a couple, Marco and Cinzia, who were previously part of this church.

God spoke to me quite powerfully during that time and I remember that one of the things that stood out to me the most was how much this church family in Sicily knew how to celebrate. They were busy people – many with families and jobs of their own and in what little time they had left they were out serving the homeless, working with women who were at risk of being trafficked, working with teenagers who had found themselves mixed in gangs. And what struck me was – despite the really obvious challenges – amidst the busyness and at times slight chaos of life – the team of people serving there seemed so happy. So full of joy and life. Each night we were with them we found time to gather together for food, to give thanks, to share stories, to celebrate life.

God revealed something to me during our time away with them. He showed me that there was a gulf between how I was living my life then – a life built around striving to achieve in whatever field I had found myself – sports, in the classroom, in my work place and the life God had designed me for, the new life that Jesus has won for each of us.

Jesus came so that we may have more and better life. The paradox of the kingdom of God is we find this life as we seek to serve, to give, to be generous and to prefer others. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, Jesus says, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

What really struck me about that faithful group of believers in Sicily was the deep joy that they had through serving others.