Surprising Service

It was a hot day in the Uruguayan countryside. Gerhald Acosta wasn't allowed to enter the factory that day because his I.D. card had expired. Now he was hitchhiking home, watching car after car pass by him without stopping.

Finally an SUV stopped, together with a car that was traveling behind it. A man from the second car asked where Acosta was going, told him they could take him part of the way and invited him to get into the SUV. When Acosta got into the vehicle, he discovered that his benefactors were none other than Uruguayan president Jose Mujica and his wife Lucia!

Acosta says they only took him a short distance, as far as the next town, but that the famous couple was extremely friendly. Had Acosta not taken pictures during the ride, no one would have believed his tale.

We don't often think of powerful people serving others; we expect them to want to be served. That's how it was in Jesus' day as well. That's why he was such a surprising figure.

Rather than coming into this world in the nursery of a palace, Jesus was born in the stable of an inn. He had no castle to live in; he once said he didn't even have a place to lay his head. Instead of visiting spas and receiving manicures, Jesus took up a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. Where others would ride in chariots or mount chargers, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey's foal.

He told his followers: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

When the Creator of everything came to this world, he came as a servant. And he came to die on a cross so that we could have life.

It's great to be given a ride by a president. It's much, much greater to be given life by the King, Jesus Christ.

If you don't know how to receive the life Jesus offers, write to me at tarcher@heraldoftruth.org or visit our HopeForLife.org website.