Many moons ago, when I was in Year 9, I participated in a year level lunchtime Basketball Competition. There were six homerooms, which meant there would be one game a day for the next few weeks, and the class that won the most matches would be named as champions.
I was not particularly known for my sporting prowess at this stage of my life; I tended to be the kid ‘chosen’ as one of the last few rather team members than one of the first selected! It seemed my lot in life was simply to help ‘make up the numbers’!
In the second game my class participated in, I played what I would describe as ‘the game of my life.’ I couldn’t do a thing wrong! I won the contested ball, I defended strongly and scored 18 points, including 3 three-pointers. My personal success in this game was so significant that I was nearly carried off the court at the end of the game because it happened to be against the homeroom that everyone thought was going to win the competition.
From then on, I was first to be chosen for the team and started on the court rather than being a bench warmer. The other kids in the class now viewed me differently; I was no longer the kid who just helped make up the numbers, I was now the kid who had some ability, someone they could depend on to do a task.
This flashback came flooding back to me as I read the following passage from The Old Testament of The Bible of when God chose (called) His Servant. Look at what is written: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:1- 2)
God is describing His Son, Jesus, in the passage and says of His called one, that, “I will put my Spirit on him.” As I read this passage it occurred to me that it is one thing to be chosen but it is another thing to be anointed and enabled. Jesus as the Servant of the Lord is not only chosen for a task, but empowered to perform that task.
As we read a passage like this one, it is important to remember that being a servant in Biblical times was not necessarily held with the same low esteem as people deem servants today. To be a servant in Biblical times didn’t necessarily mean that you were a miserable slave or assigned menial tasks; depending on the standing of the one you served, you could find yourself in quite prestigious surrounds such as the Royal Court. In Biblical times, your standing as a servant depended purely on whose servant you were.
To be known or called the Lord’s servant is an incredible blessing. In Genesis 26:24, we read that Abraham was called to be God’s servant. So too was Moses in Exodus 14:31, as well as King David in 2 Samuel 3:18, as were prophets such as Amos.
To be chosen and enabled to be a servant of the Lord didn’t require you to be a resplendent figure, decked out in fine robes and jewels. What really mattered was that as a servant of the Lord, each person was not only chosen by God, but also anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to do God’s work. The power of the Spirit enables the servant to represent the Master, as well as reassure him or her of the Lord’s authority over what he or she had been called to do.
As we draw close to concluding the 2023 school year, the prayer of the staff is that each student who has been in our care has been able to come to see themselves and be seen by others as someone who has been chosen by God.
As they come to understand this blessed position, they will realise that they have God’s loving stamp of enablement upon their lives.
Our heart’s desire is that each student will know that the power of the Spirit enables them to serve and represent their Master and be reassured of the Lord’s authority on their lives. Then as they go about their everyday tasks, may they know that God has written on their hearts and chosen each of them as His.
Blessings,
Ross Grace
Executive Principal