Anyone can call themselves a servant of God, but it's instructive to look at the handful of people in the Bible whom God calls "my servant." We can see that the common denominator in all of them is that when God called, they answered. When God commanded, they obeyed. And they came willingly, with zeal, not grudgingly.

Think about the qualities of service displayed by these men:

• Job: Righteous and upright before God, no matter the circumstance
• Moses: Faithful in all things over God's house, fully committed to God's work
• Abraham: Trusting in all God's word, willing to obey God's instructions without doubting or disputing
• Isaiah: Willing to undergo pain and humiliation in the service of God
• Caleb: Trusting "fully" in God, not depending on his own strength to accomplish the work, but relying on God's power
• David: Seeking above all else to be in the presence of God, to be loved by God, to dwell with God
• Jesus: The summation and perfection of all these qualities of service, obeying the Father in all things, even to the cross

God promises each of us a glorious purpose and a meaningful life. The problem is that often we think of those things in worldly terms – a great job, a fulfilling career, a life full of happiness where we get all the things we want. That’s not how God’s vision for us always works out.

But in the message from Jeremiah, we see three basic concepts we can apply today in our own lives to help us think about who we are, what our relationship is to God, and how we can allow God to bless us and in turn make us a blessing to others:

• We are called to be content wherever God places us
• We are called to take confidence in God’s understanding and providence
• We are called to live our lives focused on our covenant relationship with God

When we keep those ideas in mind, we stop worrying about whether God will do for us what we want, and we focus on how we can do for God what He wants. That’s when we find true fulfillment in our walk with the Lord.

When we look at Jesus, or when we hear people talk about Jesus, it sometimes seems like the idea is to focus on a specific aspect of Jesus' character or life, and emphasize that almost to the point of excluding everything else.

So we see Jesus depicted as a meek servant, an angry revolutionary, a mighty king, a gentle healer, a powerful teacher... and yes, a helpless baby. And many times, how we see Jesus has a lot to do with what we want from Jesus. We can find the version that fits our preference, or our specific passion or concern.

We often fail to see the Jesus that he wanted us to see, and in the book of John, we see that happening quite often, even among his disciples.

In John 14, Jesus reassures his disciples that while he is leaving them, he has given them everything they need to follow him into the new kingdom. And as the disciples worry and fret about whether they can recognize the way, Jesus responds: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."

How much do we trust Jesus? Do we trust him enough to know that he has provided us everything we need to enter into the kingdom? We don't have to rely on ourselves, or some other teacher, or any other source of human wisdom. Because Jesus is all-sufficient for us.

But to be that, Jesus has to be more than the simple, two-dimensional character we often see depicted. He is all of those things and more. He is the son of God. He is the one in whom God placed all fullness, all sufficiency, all authority. He is the risen savior, the radiant and glorious figure that made his friend John fall on his face and worship upon seeing him some 50 years after Jesus had ascended to the Father.