Servant

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:12).

Saint Augustine of Hippo (Lippo Memmi)

When Christ came to Earth He did not come as a King…  And Christ gave this freely.  He knew that in giving of Himself as a SERVANT He was effectively making Himself humble to a point that the CREATOR would submit to the CREATION.

And I have been thinking about that today.  You see, when Christ decided to give of Himself it was almost as though I would lay down my life in service to my computer.

Now – let me continue in my analogy…  What I mean is this…  If I were able to create a computer and the artificial intelligence that seems to be running so many things these days, I could be considered in some way a creator.  Obviously, I would not really be a creator as I would be starting with something and building from that, and when God creates, He creates from NOTHING…  But in a way I would be considered a creator.  Now assume that I loved that computer – assume that I did not NEED that computer, but rather that I loved it very much and wanted to make it happy and help it to share in my joy in life.  And so, I would come into the world of the computer and live in that world for a period of time, allowing that computer to treat me badly, just so that I could give the computer a chance to come to be with me in joy in my own world.

And now consider that a computer is able to mimic intelligence and information.  But I can in no way mimic my God.  And I am far less to Him than a computer is to me.  And still He gave everything for me.

And that was what God did for me.  He made Himself small so that I could enter into something big…

“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends...No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, to love one another.” (John 15:12-17).

And there is a freedom in the offering of Christ to us.  Saint Augustine said, “This very moment I may, if I desire, become the friend of God…”

And I have been thinking about that.  Because this friendship is only possible for me because God came to Earth – entering time and space – as a servant.  He came to serve so that I would be able to live with Him forever in Paradise.  And today that seems like a most amazing miracle…  A most amazing miracle.

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.