THAN TO BE THE KING OF A VAST DOMAIN

I was asked to sing a special number in church today. And as I stood, walked to the pulpit, and began to speak, I said,

“There’s a line in the song I’m about to sing which goes, ‘than to be the king of a vast domain…’

“What I’m about to share with you has everything to do with my favorite attribute, servanthood, its vital ingredients, leadership, service, submission and humbleness, and someone who believed in practicing that attribute more than I ever will.

“My wife and I attended a funeral for one of our former parishioners yesterday.

“I think you know her. Her name is Paula. I use the verb, ‘is’ because, my friends, just because you can’t see her doesn’t mean she has ceased to exist. She has just stepped ‘from here to there.’ (And I can assure you, she’s very much there).

“The pastor shared a couple of things which were just so poignant and so compelling concerning our friend. And, as a result, I felt like I came away knowing Paula better than I ever knew Paula while she was still here among us.

“Following is the good minister’s eulogy.

‘Paula was a servant at heart. She lived out her faith in a host of practical ways, and on a daily basis.

‘There was a time when one of her little elementary students ducked under his desk, and refused to come out. Well, Paula apparently got the class busy with something else, she knelt in front of the boy, and took some time to teach him the lesson he had been trying so hard to avoid.’

(“And it occurred to me that anyone but Paula would have jerked that kid up from where he was hiding quicker than he could say, ‘You can’t catch me,’ and she could say, ‘Oh yes, I can’)!

“As the minister continued his monologue, four women in the pew ahead of us looked at one another knowingly, smiled and whispered among themselves. And I knew. I just knew. They had been Paula’s fellow teachers.

“The pastor continued.

‘Paula emulated the love of Christ. Even in the midst of the confusion and pain of a terminal illness, she was desperately aware of the needs of others around her.

‘During the long and tedious months of treatment she was thinking, not only of herself, but of her fellow patients, and she lived out a life of servanthood.

‘Paula would be sitting in a chair in the cancer center waiting for chemo, and she would suddenly stand up, walk over to someone who looked scared or discouraged or depressed, and begin talking to them; encouraging, enlightening, and serving as a willing conduit between her Lord and the people He came to redeem.’

As I prepared to sing the hymn, “I’d Rather Have Jesus” I left my audience with the following admonition.

“My friends, I can tell you the pastor’s characterization of Paula’s selfless love and compassion for the hurting, in the thick and thin of everything she endured, is reminiscent of Christ’ own sacrificial love and compassion, and His expectation that we walk in His steps.”

by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright Pending

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