Christ’s cross empowers humble service with joy.
As Jesus approaches the cross, He asks the Father to glorify Him (John 17:1). Later in the same prayer, He speaks of giving His followers the glory the Father gave Him, so that they may be one (John 17:22–23). Jesus connects our oneness to what the world can see. Through the life His people share, others can see that the Father sent Him and loves them.
“His glory empowers His people to be selfless; to be humble servants to all.”
— Henry Hon, One Ekklesia, “The Three Gifts for the One Body”
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Glory.
The cross shapes how we serve
At the cross, Jesus gives Himself for us. As we receive His love, we learn to give ourselves for others. That may mean making time for someone who needs to talk, taking a turn with work that usually falls to the same person, or making the first move toward reconciliation.
Some acts of service cost us time or comfort. Others ask us to receive help and let someone else carry part of the load. Both give us a way to live out the love Jesus shows us.
The joy of serving together
Jesus prays that His followers will share His joy (John 17:13). We get a taste of that joy when someone we’ve been praying for finds encouragement, when a burden becomes lighter because several people carry it, or when a strained relationship begins to heal. When we speak "Christ" to one another, we truly are loving them as Christ willingly shared His Life and Truth and Glory with us! This is the "glory to be nothing" just as Christ took the lowest place and washed even His enemy's feet.
As we serve one another in this way, people can catch a glimpse of Christ in the life we share as His Body.
Begin here. Read John 17:20–26. Think of one person whose burden you could help carry this week. Ask what would help, then follow through.
For a full treatment on the subject of Christ’s gift of glory to His saints, read “One Life and Glory–Miraculously Normal Living and Service” by Henry Hon. Available here (link needed) and on Amazon.