Beyond the Weekend: Parables
The stories Jesus told and what they mean for your life today.
Why did Jesus teach in stories? Because the deepest truths about God are often found in the ordinary moments of life.
In the parables, Jesus takes everyday things, a lost sheep, a dinner party, a farmer planting seeds and uses them to show us what God is really like and what it means to follow him.
This summer, we’re spending seven weeks in the parables from Luke’s gospel. Whether you’ve heard these stories a hundred times or this is your first time, you’re invited to come and hear them fresh.
June 27/28–August 8/9
The Serving Master
Read: Luke 12:37-38 | Listen: Luke 12
It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. Luke 12:37
The master finally comes home. The servants welcome him in, expecting to serve him as always. Instead, he tells them to recline at the table while he serves them. No master serves like this, but this one does. This would be shocking to Jesus's listeners; nothing like it had been seen before. Jesus would soon demonstrate this himself. At his last meal with the disciples before the cross, he settles their argument over who is greatest with these words, "I am among you as one who serves" (Luke 22:27). The master they've been waiting for is a serving master, and he invites his followers into that same posture.
Jesus sets this example, and it's ours to follow today. Scripture points us back to this truth often. Paul writes that we should look not only to our own interests but to the interests of others, having the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who took on the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:4–7). To live like Jesus is to take on his heart, the heart of a servant. This is one way we stay watchful and ready for his return—growing a servant's heart and continually seeking ways to live it out. It might look like a handwritten note or a prayer sent to someone walking through a hard season, a meal for someone recovering from surgery, or sitting with someone who's grieving.
TODAY: Think of someone in your life that you could serve right now. Maybe it's watching a struggling parent's kids for an afternoon, or maybe it's a conversation where you share your faith with someone who doesn't know Jesus yet. Pick one person and take the step.
