Following a servant leader

"They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the centre of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, 'Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!'” Matthew 21:7-9 (NLT)

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure how I would react if I saw Jesus arriving in my home town. Yet, you can tell from this passage that the response of the people around Jesus was one of absolute joy and awe. They took their clothes and broke off palm leaves to line the path for Jesus on his donkey as a warm welcome. Many had heard of Jesus and all he had done and now here he is; they must have truly believed that he was somebody to hope in and he was like no other before him.  

How often do we stop and remember how incredible the Son of God is? He may not be coming down our street on a donkey, but he is still so worthy of all our praise and worship. It’s so easy for many of the other things in our life to be at the centre as they fight for our attention, but Jesus Christ must be first. Let’s make time to worship and sing his praises, take time to reflect and be thankful for what Jesus did for you and me. It is also worth taking time to understand how Jesus served others and how we can reflect that in our daily lives; he calls us to be his disciples and imitate his actions within our own communities. As we serve others let our hearts be filled with gratitude that we are able to follow his lead and do the works he started.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for sending your only son Jesus for us, he bridged the gap so that we can have a relationship with you. I pray that through times of joy and times of hardship that I will continue to sing your praises. Open my eyes to the need around me and help me become, in some way, a reflection of Jesus in the world. Amen

By Jamie Glencross