Servant


Psa 119:125  I'm your servant--help me understand what that means, the inner 

meaning of your instructions. 


	I had seen others like them, these cowboys on the farm where I was staying 

for the summer. In fact, my Dad had been one in his younger years and I had seen 

a picture of him riding a bucking bronco that had just come out of the chute. 

They had a certain way of talking and acting and wearing their clothes that was 

cool and strange at the same time. There had also been some I had seen on TV 

that had given the impression of being this sort of tough romantic character 

that loved to fight and shoot guns and make a lot of noise. What it was really 

like to be a cowboy, though, was something that I could not really know without 

finding out why it was they wore what they wore and acted the way they acted. 

That summer was my opportunity to discover this for myself and get a small taste 

of what it meant to be a cowboy. 


	There were two of them who were brothers staying in the basement of the 

farmhouse and taking care of a herd of registered cattle fenced in nearby 

pastures. Their job for the summer was to work the cattle, feeding and watering 

them, doctoring them and insuring that they would be bearing calves in the 

coming calving season. This meant getting up before the sun so that we could be 

out in the pasture on horseback at dawn, bringing in different groups of them 

for the purpose at hand. The work would continue throughout the day until the 

sun would finally set at dusk. Maybe one of the most strenuous and exhausting 

jobs I've had, it was also one of the most enjoyable as I found out what it 

meant to wear the cowboy hat screwed down as tight as possible on the head so it 

wouldn't come off when galloping a horse into a strong wind. The shape of the 

hat itself had purpose in shielding the sun and rain from the face and neck. The 

purpose in the chaps and spurs was also found out in doing some of the work of 

the cowboy. I found out it wasn't just to be cool or have a certain look, but 

that each thing they wore had a purpose in accomplishing a certain task. Though 

I'm sure there would be much more to learn if given a longer period of time to 

have an occupation as a cowboy, I did get a sense, from working at it during 

that summer, why it was they looked the way they looked and acted the way they 

acted. I found out that it wasn't about just looking and acting, but it was 

about accomplishing a certain task. I found out it was very difficult work with 

long hours in the saddle dealing with obnoxious cattle. 


	There are "servants" of God to be seen all around us. They may talk, act 

and wear their clothes in a certain way that is a bit different from others. 

There may be an impression given of them that they are just looking and acting 

that way to be the "servant" and fit into that specific role. It is also 

possible to attempt being like one of them, emulating the way they look, talk 

and conduct themselves. It may seem that by just fitting these criteria that 

there will be a benefit of favor and blessings of God that is observed in them. 

There will never truly be an understanding of what it means to be a servant of 

God, though, until there is an opportunity taken to live the life of a servant. 

Until it consumes the whole day from dawn till dusk and beyond, there will only 

be a surface understanding that is attempting to follow instructions. As there 

is time given to the tasks of a servant and energy given to accomplishing the 

purpose of the Father's heart, there will be very natural evidence displayed in 

the look and conduct of our life. Instead of trying to just put something on 

that is an emulation of another, there will be this natural appearance that, for 

us, is an honest reflection of what we have found in the true servanthood of our 

Father. From spending the whole day with Him in pursuit of His will, we will 

take on the conduct and the look of one who has found the inner purpose and 

reason in following the instructions of the Lord of Life. We will discover for 

ourselves what it really means to be a servant. 



6/22/04