Ciao

James 1:1

What if we started with a man. That's what we like to talk about, isn't it? Our men. Well, this one's name is James. And he's one of my favorites. Most people believe he was the brother of Jesus. He has a lot of good stuff to say - he's full of encouragement and life and hope... but he has a lot of hard things to say as well.

He describes himself as a "servant" of Christ. Now, let's buy into the idea that he was Jesus's brother. Wouldn't you announce yourself as that? Where would your heart have to be to call yourself a servant.

I like being a servant. Well, if I get the oooo-s and ahhh-s when I set my masterful cake on the table. I like being the servant when people I love need me to do something I enjoy doing for them. I like being the servant when it's easy. When it's fun. When it's dramatic. When it's rewarding.

I like to be the servant when it's my choice.

But... ummm... James didn't really use a word that means that kind of servant. He used the word slave. Oh. A slave who is a slave by force - or by choice. And that slave word comes from the Greek word deō which is a verb meaning "to bind, tie, or wind". It doesn't sound so pleasant. Goodness, I get panicky if my headphone cords get all tangled up around my neck.

Galatians 5: 13 says that we are called to be free... we aren't called to be slaves. Were we? Paul goes on to say that we are to use that freedom - not for our sinful nature - but to serve one another in love.

I've been thinking a lot about that verse that says "A cord of three strands cannot be easily broken." It's talking about relationship. It's talking about being so untied in love that we are tangled up in each other. It's about becoming servants of each other. It's about becoming slaves to each other. And it's about choosing to be slaves to one another.

Italians, as well as many Europeans greet each other with the word, "Ciao." It comes from the Venetian phrase of "I am your servant." What if that was really how we greeted our spouses, our children, our co-workers, our neighbors... what if when we said hello, we were really thinking, "I am your servant"?

And what if when we made that our first prayer of the day and the one we cried before going to sleep? Lord, I am Your servant.

And what if we lived lives so full of God and His love and grace that when people thought of us they thought, "There goes a woman who is a servant of God."