As Pastor Caesar Kalinowski concludes Chapter 1 of Transformed, he tells of the time when he was a new believer and was befriended by a man named Johnnie, an older Christian who taught Caesar much about servanthood. Nowhere was Johnnie’s servant heart more apparent than when he was in a public restroom. Johnnie always would pick up discarded paper towels or toilet paper left on the floor. When Caesar asked Johnnie why he did this, Johnnie replied:
“That is what a servant does. He cleans up the mess that others make in life- just like Jesus did for us.”
Pastor Kalinowski states that when we take on our servant identity and truly grasp the depth of Jesus’ service to us, we’ll naturally begin to serve. Serving becomes an act of worship. Every day presents opportunities, whether big or small, to live as servants.
Our identity in Jesus, the author emphasizes, “is not based on what we do; it is found in who we are.” As Tullian Tchividjian states in One Way Love, we live in a performance-oriented, conditional world. It is easy for performancism to become the foundation of our identity. However, Pastor Kalinowski cautions that performancism is a terribly dangerous way to live and eventually crushes us. Just as Jesus has pursued us, we are to pursue others with a servant heart.
Today’s question (from Caesar): How would your relationships change if you were to see others as God sees them? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Identity flip-flop”
