The Greatest Among You

For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.

And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?

But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.

And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.

                                                                    (Mark 9:31-35 KJV)

Wow! So much to cover in these five verses! 

Now, the disciples were a bit embarrassed to admit to Jesus that they had been busy debating who would be the greatest among them. But, Jesus knew. He knows everything that we say and think and do. He reminds them that the greatest among them would be the least among them. The greatest are those who humble themselves by serving others; by serving God. 

As we consider following in the footsteps of Jesus we remember that he is the King of Kings yet he was willing to humble himself to serve all people by suffering and dying on the cross for our sins. The disciples did not understand any of that; at least, not until after he was crucified and rose from the grave.   

God help us to love and serve others. Help our earthly rulers to also understand that they who would consider themselves above others are not above others but have debased themselves by their selfishness and greed for riches and power over others. Help us all to understand that the greatest among us are those who serve others. God grant us leaders who love you and the people they serve. 

God's Peace - Pr. J. 

Shine Like A Star To Glorify God

Shine Like Stars In The World

Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:14-16 NRSV)

Personally, I am very tired of arguing. I'm too old and have much better things to do; like proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Arguing is unproductive and a major waste of time that could be spent gathering instead of separating. 

Reasonable debating is another thing. Sitting down with someone and actually discussing something can be very productive. But, when you don't win the "argument" to then go around and murmur (gossip) about the person you disagree with is definitely not only non-productive, it is not Christ like. 

We are to shine like stars in the world, not to be like the world. The race we are to run is not against others. It is for others. We proclaim the Good News with all the fervor that the Spirit of Christ provides us with so that others might also hear and believe.

It is not about glorifying ourselves. It is not about us winning the race against others. It is about trusting the Holy Spirit to help us to run the race and let the light of Christ shine in and through us for the sake of others, to the glory of God.

God's Peace - Pr. J