Servants and offering service do not, typically, conjure up thoughts of privilege or enjoyment. And yet, Jesus seems to align his own eternal happiness with girding himself and waiting upon those who have faithfully longed for his return and opened immediately to his knock. In this we encounter the Christian paradox whereby service and the gift of self (rather than being served) are the true avenues to happiness. Perhaps this happiness comes less from the actual service rendered and more from the wholeness of the person serving. Having, through sanctification, come into complete possession of themselves and thus being fully at home with themselves (in Christ), the humbling work of service is experienced as ennobling and totally non-threatening to a positive sense of self. Still, it is not service per se that brings us to this desirable inner state, but rather the entire work of sanctification. And thus in heeding Christ’s instruction it’s worth noting that when humble work and simple service bring joy, this is more a sign of holiness that the primary means to it.
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