A Servant's Heart
The people were
waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might
possibly be the Christ. John answered
them all, “I baptize you with water. But
one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy
to untie. He will baptize you with fire
and the Holy Spirit. Luke 3:15-16
I
teach the primary grades and I tie a lot of shoes. Of course, we try to teach our students to
tie their own shoes. In kindergarten, we
sing songs and tell stories to help them – the little rabbit that goes around
the tree and through the hole. We expect
them to have mastered this skill by second grade. But, of course, many are just
not ready so laces fly free. So, I tie a
lot of shoes.
Often
when I kneel at the feet of one of my students, I think of the passage above
and feel honored. Who knows what great
things these kids might grow up to do?
After all, one might be the future president. Or they might do something truly great, like
hold the hand of a dying friend; bring joy to an aging parent, laugh with a
brother, or cry with a stranger.
Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Anybody can be great… because anybody can
serve. You don’t have to have a college
degree to serve… You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
While I am kneeling in front of a child, I
try to remember to thank the one whose shoes “I am not fit to tie” for teaching
me to serve.
LMC 2010
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