Servant.

Paul, a servant." It is a lovely word. "Only a servant," you say; but what more could you wish to be?

When the Archbishop of Canterbury preached at the coronation of the King, he chose as his text the words, "I am among you as he that serveth." It is the supreme dignity of the King to be of service to his people. On the crest of the Prince of Wales stand the striking words, "I serve." When the Prime Minister calls together the members of the Imperial Cabinet, the official summons reads that "the servants of the King are commanded to meet." The King—a servant; the Prime Minister—a servant; Paul—a servant! Life holds no truer luxury than to be of service to somebody.

Have you ever been to Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare's little town in the Midlands? If you have ever visited the Church at Stratford, you will have said to yourself: "I would love to stand beside Shakespeare's tomb; I would love to worship where Shakespeare worshipped!" You would naturally expect that the most imposing tomb and monument would be those of Shakespeare but it is not so. You have to search for Shakespeare. All that there is of Shakespeare is a small bust; the tomb is quite inconspicuous and as you stand viewing it the inscription is upside-down to you. You could almost miss Shakespeare in the Church at Stratford-on-Avon; but you could not possibly miss one most beautiful monument there. It is a monument erected by Lady Totnes to her dear servant, Amy Smith. Just a servant, but she was all the world to Lady Totnes and Lady Totnes determined that the finest tomb in Stratford should be the tomb of her beloved Amy.

"A Servant of Jesus Christ." You can scarcely conceive a lovelier phrase. I go to a house and the servant answers the door. She does not engage me in conversation or introduce business of her own. She only says as much as is necessary to intelligently introduce me to her master. As I enter His presence she silently vanishes and I see her no more.

To be a servant is the height of a true minister's ambition. He must needs show himself. His personality must be felt but he must only show himself in such a way and his personality must only be felt to such an extent that he leads them into the presence of His Lord. And, having led them into that Divine presence, he may well be content to vanish and be seen no more.

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