Tuesday the 26th

Mark 9:  ³³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" ³⁴But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.  ³⁵Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

 

When I read this passage I am struck by verse 34….they kept quiet. I can just see it now Jesus walks up like a Father figure, and ask what were you arguing about….and there is no response, just looking down kicking rocks….no one wants to say anything. We have all been there…called out, put on the spot. Busted worrying about how we will fare in this world, instead of how this world will change with our help. Just like the disciples, when we are caught, we do not seem to have much to say…..we stammer, we try to cover, we try to change the subject. Christ calls them all around and reminds them, if you want to be the first, then you must be last, you must serve all…..hummmmmm not exactly what we had on the program for today is it? Servant to all? We have to be the last? We have been raised to live our lives for ourselves, it takes a lot to break that cycle. It is ingrained into our lives. I see it everyday, not just at work, it is even in the church. We want to be in the spot light, we want to be the one noticed, we want to be the one known as the one who made a difference……When we strive for that recognition, we are working for ourselves, not Christ. Think about Christ’s life for a moment……here we have the Son of God….God as man, here on earth……He can command the world, He can calm seas, there is nothing He is incapable of doing……all of that power, all of that glory, and He chose to serve us. He did not serve just 12, He did not serve just the people that came to see Him, or the people who agreed with Him, or accepted His help…..no Christ showed us what it meant to be last, He showed us what it means to serve all. Imagine that, here is Christ telling the people I will serve you, I will give my life so that you may live eternal, and when he was rejected……well He said that is ok, I will serve you anyway. I will still give my life for you…….He did not care if He became famous, He did not care about His status. His Job, His goal, was to bring salvation to the world, by becoming a living sacrifice for each and everyone of us. That is being a servant to all. That is the role that we must strive to follow. I am sure that we all want to be known as great, but at what cost? I am sure that we are all offended when our help is rejected, but does that cause us to want to help all the more, or does it cause us to feel scorned, and make us with hold our help? A servant to all is a tall task to take on. As a matter of fact Christ is the only one I know of that pulled it off perfectly. Remember that when we serve others we serve the Lord, when we give selflessly, we glorify God. When we offer up our time freely, even if we are rejected…..we are walking with the Lord.    

 

 

God Bless,

Brian Thetford

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www.thenewcovenantchurch.com

 

www.theworkweekwithchrist.blogspot.com