If we call ourselves followers of Jesus, obviously we must walk the path He walked. "The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." We must get this straight. We have come, not to be benefactors, but to be servants. "Slaves" is the word Jesus often used. Our perception of this truth will make an incalculable difference in our attitude toward the people, which in turn cannot help but affect their attitude toward us. To be a benefactor is to be a superior. Quite apart from the rightness or wrongness, morally, of this view, I became aware that it was a bad mistake. To the Auca I was not a superior by any standards. To be a servant is to be an inferior, and unless we are willing to accept this position we are not followers of Jesus Christ. The servant is not greater than his lord. And lest we think there is some merit in what we do, we are reminded that when we have done all we are still "unprofitable." We are in debt. We owe it to Christ, we owe it to men, savage or civilized, to lay down our lives daily.
The Savage My Kinsman by Elisabeth Elliot
