BY WALT ALBRITTON
OPINION —
When Dean and I were 28, we met an English teacher who was a radiant witness for Jesus. It was love at first sight. Her name was Estelle Carver. Thirty years older than us, she was serving as the Bible Hour teacher in many of the Ashram retreats arranged by E. Stanley Jones.
When we exchanged letters with Estelle, she signed her name, “Estelle, sjc.”
While sharing with her in another retreat a year later, I asked her what “sjc” meant. I have never forgotten her delightful response. With a charming smile, she said, “My dear boy, I should have thought you would know the letters stand for “Servant of Jesus Christ.”
I laughed but instantly I knew I would have sign my own name that way for the rest of my life. When I began doing it, however, I felt embarrassed about it. My friends will think I am a religious fanatic. But I forced myself to continue the habit. As years passed it became automatic; it was part of my name – “Walter, sjc.” Those letters reveal my true identity – a servant of Jesus Christ.
I use the initials not as a message to others but to remind myself of my identity, my sole reason to exist: to live my life as a servant of Jesus. I have had many roles – pastor, preacher, evangelist, son, father, brother, friend – but in all my relationships my chief role is to be a servant of Jesus. And though I could have done it much better that I have, that remains my consuming desire.
To think of oneself as a servant of God is, of course, not a novel idea. It is a golden thread of the Bible. The words “servant,” “service,” and “serve” occur more than 1,100 in the New Testament. People are described as servants of other human beings or as servants of God or Christ.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word for servant, ebed, refers to “workers” who obeyed and served those to whom they belonged. Major characters in the Old Testament are called “servants” of God. For example, Moses is called God’s servant 40 times and King David more than 50.
In the New Testament doulos is the ancient Greek word used to describe a master’s slave or a follower of Christ. Translated as “servant,” this word occurs 135 times in the NIV version. Both Paul and James refer to themselves as servants of Christ. In earlier translations, doulos is translated as “slave,” which is its original meaning.
Paul uses the word servant in two memorable passages. First, in Romans 6:17-18, when he describes the Christian’s transformation from “a slave to sin,” to “a slave to righteousness,” and second, in Philippians 2:7-8 when he writes of our Lord’s humility in taking on “the form of a servant” to become “obedient to death on a cross.”
There is also the remarkable assertion of Jesus that he “came not to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Some call this the most revolutionary verse in the New Testament. This attitude of my Lord Jesus humbles me and reinforces my desire to live as his servant.
The word servant does have negative overtones. Across the world, in all ages, the poor and the underprivileged have been forced to serve the wealthy and powerful. In Alabama I grew up with Black people who had little choice but to live as servants of white people. So, it is understandable that some people are reluctant to take on the identity of “a servant.”
But when it comes to knowing God, the Bible leaves us no choice. To become an authentic Christian, one must become a servant of Jesus Christ. Jesus turned upside down the idea of the world, that the privileged should have servants. He himself had come to serve, not to be served. By example he instructed his disciples to serve others, to “wash feet as I have washed your feet,” he said. Servanthood, then, is the key to peace with God.
Serving others is not glamorous. It involves unpleasant things, like dirty feet and the putrid smells of sickness and poverty. Pride, that monstrous attitude that seeks constantly to destroy us, will cause us to think we are too important for servant work; it is beneath us. But the example of Jesus calls us to swallow our pride, grab a towel and basin, and wash dirty feet.
Our willingness to wash feet puts us in sync with the truth that every Christian is a minister. The word “minister” means much more than priest or preacher; it means any believer, any disciple of Jesus. God expects Christians to “minister” in every facet of life. Every Christian is expected to live as a ministering servant of Jesus, serving others in love.
Washing feet is more than sharing in a “foot-washing” worship service though such services can be truly humbling learning experiences. More than once, I have seen the Holy Spirit move people to tears as sins were confessed amid cries for forgiveness.
I remember a service in which a woman knelt in front of her husband and, washing his feet gently, asked him to forgive her for her rotten attitude. After she returned to her seat, her husband knelt before her and washed her feet with his own tears as well as water. He asked her to forgive him for the ways he had hurt her for many years. Needless to say, we “had church” that night. To witness two people forgiving each other is nothing less that God at work.
But “washing feet” has to do with much more than a foot-washing service. Albert Schweitzer and Mother Teresa have inspired us to see many unique ways to wash feet by offering the love of Jesus to neighbors in need.
Greg did it in a nursing home. He sat for hours, many days, feeding his dad who could no longer feed himself. He chose not to chastise his dad when he drooled food on his pajamas. He said he treated his dad with the same kindness he has received as a child when slobbering his own food in a highchair.
Don does it by supervising his church’s food pantry, purchasing staple goods at low prices and making food available to those who need it most. When errands need to be run, Don is available. He stays busy serving Jesus since he retired.
James does it by gently caring for his wife who no longer knows his name. Alzheimer’s disease has robbed her of her memory. James showers her with kindness, spending hours with her every day even though time means nothing to her anymore. Friends suggested he should put her in a nursing facility. James said, “She does not know who I am, but I know who I am. I am her husband who promised the Lord I would care for her in sickness and in health.”
Ron does it by being available 24-7 to a couple of friends who are struggling with drug, gambling and alcohol addictions.
Jere does it by inspiring the lawyers in his firm to honor Christ by maintaining the highest standards of integrity while “helping those who need it most.” He urges his colleagues to put God first, family second and work third.
Coralie and her friends did it by cooking food for Mercy House on fourth Sundays for several years. And with her girls she supervised the making of more than a thousand Raggedy Ann Dolls that the Sunshine Center has made available to children of broken families.
Chris does it by leading her church’s “Celebrate Recovery” ministry that offers hope and help to people struggling with addictions. And, by the way, Chris has led that ministry for 20 years!
Ron has done it while serving on a medical team in Peru. He assisted a doctor who offered medical care, eyeglasses and medicine to the poor. After praying with one woman, Ron asked if she needed anything else. She replied, “I need only one thing – a Bible. I have never had one of my own and I want to teach my children the word of God.” Ron said, “I will never forget the look on her face when we handed her a Spanish Bible, the word of God in her own language.” (It is estimated that there are 1.5 billion people in the world without access to a
Bible in their native language.)
Ken washes feet by being available, night and day, to the poor and needy in his poverty-stricken community, people who need a meal or clothes or a shower or a job, people who desperately need hope for a better life.
Corine has done it by inspiring the students in her classroom to believe God can use their skills to make the world a better place to live.
Woody does it by handing out peppermint candy to fellow worshipers every Sunday. People say Woody’s contagious smile makes their day.
Lindora does it with annual gifts that make it possible for orphans in Zambia to enjoy the dignity of going to school.
Ellen does it by inspiring women to prepare lovely dresses and dolls for poor girls in third world countries.
Diane washes feet by loving and leading a small choir to offer inspiring music for Sunday worship. Choir members say the choir feels like a loving family.
If we look around, we can find multiple ways, simple ways, to wash feet, thus sharing the love of Christ with our neighbors. People care very little about your opinions. But when you find a way to wash their feet with love, they will often want to know more about this Jesus you claim to be serving.
Serving Jesus will not bring you fame and fortune because at its best serving Jesus is mostly done in little deeds of love that are not applauded or noticed by others. While there is some pleasure in recognition of our good deeds, what matters most is the joy of knowing that our Lord has us where he wants us, doing what he wants us to do, so that he may be known and loved.
Feel free to start adding “sjc” after your name. But do it for the right reason. Do it to remind yourself that serving Jesus is what God wants you to do.
Love forever,
Walter, sjc
