by Marcia Sanders
“Hey, David! You need to put the sports equipment away!” Peter yelled. “Oh, and don’t forget to clean each piece before you store it.”
“That Peter is so bossy!” David muttered. “How come he can’t take a turn at cleaning stuff for a change? He treats me like I’m his servant or something.”
“Well,” Jason replied, “he is the team leader and has a lot of other responsibilities. Is cleaning the equipment so bad? I’ll help you.”
“No, cleaning isn’t hard, but I get tired of being treated like his slave.”
“You know who didn’t mind serving others?” Jason asked.
“Nobody ever?” David answered sarcastically.
“No, Jesus.”
“What makes you say that? Jesus is our Lord and King, not our servant.”
“Sure He is. But remember what we read in Luke 22 last week? The disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest, and Jesus said the greatest had to become the least and that He himself was with them like a servant. In fact, in Philippians 2:7, Paul said Jesus made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. Doesn’t sound like being a servant is a bad thing in Jesus’ eyes.”
“I’ve never thought of it like that,” David mused. “By serving others, I’m kinda serving Jesus, huh? That puts it all in a completely different light. Rather than resenting the work I’m asked to do, I can think of it as another way to serve my Lord. It feels almost like an honor. I’ve heard Pastor Dan talk about being called, and I always wondered about that. I mean, we don’t have a message board where He can post jobs. Maybe being available to serve others is one way we respond to His call.”
David began to whistle as he and Jason meticulously cleaned the sports equipment, making each piece look like new. The boys were so absorbed in their work, they didn’t hear the door to the equipment room open.
“Wow!” exclaimed Coach Bryan. “I don’t think I have ever seen the equipment look so good, and I know I’ve never seen anyone enjoy cleaning it. I love your attitude and how seriously you’re taking your work. That’s the very kind of player I’m looking for. When you guys finish, come find me and we’ll go grab some ice cream and talk about your roles on the team.”
Jason looked at David. “Did you hear that? Coach was really impressed with our work.”
“I bet he came in to see if we were really doing what we’re supposed to be doing,“ David laughed. “Boy, did he get a surprise! I wonder what he meant about talking about our roles on the team.” “We’ll find out soon enough.” Jason smiled. “For now, let’s get this job finished so we can have that ice cream and hear what the coach has to say.”
