What does it mean to be a servant? Many times in the Bible we are called to be a servant. After all, Jesus came to serve. And what better example could we have? The second of the great commandments calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. If you had to say what you loved the most in the whole world, I’m guessing neighbors wouldn’t be at the top of your list either.

In Isaiah 42: 1-4 we can learn what it means to be a servant and what God thinks about being a servant. In verse 1 God says he will uphold the servant and that he delights in the servant. He will give his Spirit to the servant, who will bring justice to the world. In verses 2 and 3 we learn that a servant doesn’t raise his voice and the servant does not break the bruised reed or snuff out the smouldering wick, but instead brings justice – second time. Finally, in verse 4, God assures us that the servant will not be discouraged and will establish justice on the earth – third time. Because of this, people will find hope.

Servants are here to serve. Servants are also here to bring justice. Let’s go back to the ultimate servant, Jesus, for a moment. How did he administer justice? Wasn’t it in things like extending healing to the broken, acceptance to the lonely, redemption to the sinner? Wasn’t it in feeding the hungry, visiting the lonely, caring for the orphan and the widow, clothing the naked? Isn’t it the same for us today???

Serve is a verb. Feeding, visiting, caring, clothing… – all verbs too!! Justice doesn’t have to just be about righting the wrongs of the world and making sure everything is ‘fair.’ Justice can be as simple as making someone feel that they matter, that they are worthy of our time, that they are worthy of God’s love. In short, when we serve and bring justice we bring hope. Today may we all find a neighbor and may we all find a way to serve them through God’s love.