“Servant” is an odd word in the English language. It is easy to see that the word means literally one who serves. While “service” is at the heart of its meaning the oddity of the world is that the service we often perceive with servants is the less than desirable part of living. The perception extends through the answers to the following questions.
Who takes care of the heavy lifting?
Who cooks, washes, and cleans?
Who takes cares of the messes?
Who deals with the problems of the house?
Who makes sure that everything works?
To each question the answer is simple; servants. The character Jeeves in the P.G. Woodhouse series of novels was the consummate servant to Bernie Wooster. Jeeves was smart, intelligent, compassionate, considerate, and was also there to serve. It is easy to assume that Jeeves wasn’t going to be smart, intelligent, thoughtful, and full of insights; but that assumption would be clearly wrong! In the oddity of the combination the author brought us a series of stories that are funny, witty, and enjoyable.
Jeeves dealt with everything that Bernie could not. Jeeves played a role God offers to have with us. God is willing to deal with everything that we cannot. If you are wondering how we will ever hold others accountable, don’t. We don’t have the power or moral high ground. God does though. “I'll assemble all the godless nations. I'll lead them down into Judgment Valley and put them all on trial, and judge them one and all because of their treatment of my own people Israel. They scattered my people all over the pagan world and grabbed my land for themselves.” (Joel 3.2)
Ever wonder who is going to comfort when life overwhelms? You don’t need to worry at all. God offers us unconditional acceptance, unlimited compassion, and a willingness to engage in a relationship with us that transcends the muck and yuck of life! God’s role as a servant deity is founded on love, inside and out. The offer is open for us to join Divinity in this.
