“Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Matthew 8:2 NLT

Here is a perfect example of how we should approach and present ourselves to the Lord Jesus.

To be a follower of Christ means we serve Him, therefore becoming a servant.

“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am.” John 12:26 NLT

This leper came with a servant attitude. Not only did he approach carefully, kneeling before Jesus, but he also did not demand his own way.

Imagine having a terminal illness and asking Jesus if He would heal you by saying, “If You are willing!” Most of us would be desperate to be healed, not caring if it was His will! We would cry out to God, heal me!

But this leper demonstrates a godly attitude and one we must learn to practice until it becomes a natural way of life. I don’t believe in being a doormat to everyone, but we can be lower than a doormat to Christ.

We, like John the Baptist, should adopt the attitude:

 “I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”  John  1:27 NLT

John was saying he wasn’t even worthy to untie this man's sandals, let alone wash his feet.

It would save a lot of the bickering, arguing and being offended in the church if we adopted this attitude and sought to serve rather than to be served.

Few are born with a servant's heart, but we can learn to practice it. Look for ways in which you can serve to be a blessing to others. This is the way to find favour with God. Paul, the greatest of the apostles, had learned this lesson. He said,

“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”   Acts 20:35 NLT