A friend was visiting a poorer area of a South American country recently. The people they were visiting served them cakes, cookies and tea. Of course my friend would have loved to be serving them instead, but she knew that it was important for the people to serve them in this way.
Another friend was having a tough day the other day. She is someone who is always willing to bring a casserole or help out, but on this day she was receiving encouragement and offers of service from her friends. She was allowing her friends to show their friendship. I am sure the next day she was off doing something for one of her friends again, but on that day she was being served.
Sometimes being served is part of serving.
Now, just to be clear, most of the time serving is not being served. Most of the time serving is, well, serving. But in the two examples above, these women allowing themselves to be served was a service to those who were serving them. I am sure both women were also encouraged.
It can be confusing, knowing when to insist on being the one to serve, and when to allow others to serve you.
Peter went through this. Jesus wanted to wash his feet. Peter could not bear the thought of his teacher, his Rabbi, serving him, he wanted to be the one serving, or at least the one calling for a servant to serve them all. :)
But Jesus insisted. At Jesus' insistence, Peter wanted more. To be washed more, to be served more. But Jesus knew what Peter needed, knew how much he needed to be washed, to be served, in order to be prepared to serve others.
"So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious." John 13 :14-15, The Message
When we are served, then we are even more prepared to serve others.
And after all, as a certain wonderful man once wrote,
"I have been saved to serve."
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