Stairwell to the Servants Quarters


I am so full of myself and my own importance. If I am not noticed and my work not recognized, I grow sullen. (For instance, why don't more people read my blog?!) Then I read of Jesus' service to his disciples in John 13. He takes up the basin and towel and washes their feet, a job that was usually reserved for Gentile servants. It was beneath the Master, but He did not regard it as such.
"The stairway to the ministry is not a grand staircase but a back stairwell that leads down to the servants quarters."
-Edmund Clowney

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

All His Children

This has been a trying time for our family. Like many across the country, I've been "downsized." We're having to do with less--not a bad discipline. I hope we can remember the lessons we are learning when things take a turn for the better. At the same time, some of my friends are enjoying tremendous opportunities for ministry, and I'm not a part of it. Do I despair? Give way to bitterness? Doubt God's providence? No. We are to know "how to abound and how to be in want." Contentment is hard to learn, but very rewarding. I found the following devotional from C. H. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening very encouraging in light of our current circumstances. It is based on Galatian 3:26: "You are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." The fatherhood of God is common to all his children. Ah! Little-faith, you have often said, "Oh that I had the courage of Great-heart, that I could wield his sword and be as valiant as he! But, alas
Read more

The First Thanksgiving without My Mom

A very long while ago, Paul asked me if I wanted to be a "guest blogger". I declined. I didn't have anything to say. (Shocking, I know.) Tonight, I am having a hard time sleeping, so I thought I would give it a try. Here goes.... Grief is a funny thing. I have compared it to an ocean often in the past 9 months since I have experienced it in a new way after my moms death. It was incredibly choppy the first several weeks. As the months went on it became easier on a daily basis. Then those waves would come... almost out of nowhere. It just rolls right over you sometimes with an almost shocking intensity. So, tonight is one of those nights. I knew it was coming. I've known for about a month now, wondering when it would hit and dreading it. Here it is. My first Thanksgiving without her. And this Thanksgiving particularly, I would really like to share with her. I really, really miss her. I feel like part of my history went with her. No one can answer "
Read more

Works of Art

Image
A friend of mine recently wrote me about his attitude toward his children. I thought it was worth passing along: Why don't I see the beauty that God has placed all around me – my children?  I see work – not works of art.  I see busyness – not joyful and eternal business.  I see inconvenience, not scenes of heaven.  Daily I prove that my pride means so much to me. Especially in light of the recent shooting in Ohio, I want to hug my kids, pray with and for them, and be more grateful for the gifts of God they are.
Read more