Jesus our Servant King
Imagine a pen pal living in Australia and connecting with you via letter. OK, if you can't conceive of that then imagine the movie, You've Got Mail and you are connecting online with someone. Just to keep this morally pure this other person is the same sex and you are developing a plutonic relationship. What would you know of this person? Answer: Only what they chose to reveal. What they value, what they like, what they've experienced, etc.. Consider the great distance that lies between us and God and the impossibility for us to know anything about God unless he reveals it to us. This is what we have in every story and on every page in the bible: God's self-revelation to us. We know that Jesus is the pinnacle of this revelation. Therefore, as we work through various Sunday lessons with the kids we can help them see what God intends for us to see in him.
In March the focus is on his revelation to us of his role as King and ironically his simultaneous role as Servant. Despite the seeming contradiction I think you only need look as far as your role as a parent to see how these two co-exist together. In authority you are unmatched to your children. For all intents and purposes, you are their royal leader. Your word is the law. Yet you have surrendered everything in your life for the sake of their well being. You work to put a roof over their head and clothes on their backs. You spend your 'free' time running them around to various activities. You take what little excess is left over in your bank account to send them on that school trip or enroll them in that sport.
Take time this month to reflect on how Jesus wrapped up these two roles into his life and ministry. Even now, seated as he is in heaven at the right hand of the father, how is he still playing out the part of the servant? As you marvel at this revelation you will most naturally live out this wonder before your children. Read the stories outlined in your take home paper with your children. The story of his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The story of his washing of his followers feet. Wonder out loud with your children how it helps us to know Jesus better? What it says about his attidute toward us? How might impact the way we live out our lives everyday?
God could have ignored us. He could have responded to our disobedience with abandonment and been fully justified. But his great love for us propelled him to a plan of action and of self-revelation. Not only to know him but to find the path back into full and open relationship. You also have a choice before you. Will you take the time and effort required to guide your children into the knowledge of his saving grace? It is our hope and prayer that the little we do in these Sunday lessons and our take home sheets will be mightily used by God in your home and with your desire for the spiritual formation of your children.