Like Jesus

“Oh! Excuse me!”

I was walking into the restroom in the church lobby when I barely avoided colliding into a woman on her way out. I laughed quietly about the near-miss as I entered one of the unoccupied stalls. Always one to startle easily, I felt bad for the woman in whose face I shrieked.

I’d only been in this particular bathroom once before, but since I hadn’t been able to resist another cup of coffee at the beginning of service…c’est la vie. Thankfully, I had made it through to the end and didn’t have to miss any of Pastor Ben’s sermon as he led us through Isaiah 42.

Ben is one of three pastors on staff at Crossroads Church, and the pastors, along with a few of the elders, take turns preaching on Sunday mornings. A ginger-haired 30-something with an affable nature and a keen ability to connect with his emotions in his sermons, Ben is also a husband and father of a young family. Today’s message, entitled “I Will Not Share My Glory,” was a deeply thought-provoking dive into the pitfalls of idolatry and the utter holiness of the Lord.

I was closing my stall door when I heard two ladies entering the restroom at the same time, exchanging polite pleasantries. I heard them introduce themselves and begin to make acquaintances.

“We visited churches for a bit and finally found Crossroads!” The first woman was saying. “We just love everyone here. The atmosphere, the pastors, everyone is so welcoming. How long have you been going here?” She asked the other woman.

“Oh, I’d say it’s been about six years since we’ve been here at Crossroads,” she answered warmly. I recognized from her voice that it was Allison, Pastor Ben’s wife. “It’s a great community and our kids have made so many friends,” she continued.

I washed up and reentered the lobby to meet my husband, the two female voices on the other side of the door soon out of earshot.

It was later that day that I found myself pondering the seemingly insignificant conversation I had overheard in the restroom.

It was just the friendly chatter of two ladies getting to know one another. But it had made an impact on me that Allison hadn’t mentioned that her husband was the pastor who’d just preached the sermon. I felt I had caught her in a beautiful act of humility.

It wouldn’t have been prideful, wrong, or unusual for her to have mentioned that Ben was her husband. Not in the slightest.

But I sensed in Allison the desire to meet her new friend on a level playing field, so to speak. Perhaps she felt that mentioning it would be a distraction, or that it would come off as bragging to point out that her husband had been “center stage.” Coupled with Allison’s sweet disposition that I was already familiar with, I believe it came from a place of humility that she didn’t mention it.

Though the Bible says that Christians are like members of a body, all vitally and equally important, it’s true that sometimes it seems that the pastors and church administrators get mistaken for the VIPs of Christianity. And unfortunately, this sense of hierarchy or cliquish behavior in some churches can often be a reason that many Christians don’t attend a weekly gathering.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5-7, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

Though Jesus was God in the flesh, he didn’t use that incredible fact to gain anything for himself, but instead, acted as a servant. The story of Jesus is the tale of a glorious King who became a pauper to woo his bride. It’s like when the CEO of the company works the assembly line to make friends with the entry-level employees. In our humanity, we often believe we have every reason to use what we have in our arsenals to get ahead and leave others behind. But Jesus shows us a different way. How beautiful when we, too, in this life, have opportunities to use situations, positions, and favor to our advantage, and instead, take on the nature of a servant in order to benefit others.

I’m often reminded of that encounter in the church restroom that Sunday morning. It was a sweet reminder that whether we are the pastor’s wife, the CEO, or anything in between, we are to consider ourselves less so that we can serve others more. And in doing so, we will be acting like Jesus.