Mark 9:33 to 37
And he came to Capernaum : and being
in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by
the way? 34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among
themselves, who should be the greatest. 35 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. 36 And he took a child, and set him in the
midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, 37
Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and
whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent
I was reading today's scripture when something occurred to
me. Jesus never corrected or rebuked to apostles for wanting to be the
Greatest. Rather he set forth qualifications for being great in the Kingdom; qualifications
like being childlike (teachable) and a servant to all (Luke 22:24 thru 27). In the eyes of Christ it is acceptable
to desire greatness...... for God. This is not the greatness of the world or
greatness as the world sees it. Godly greatness is NEVER about self, rather it
involves the mindset of the most humblest of servants Jesus. It also involves
the godly characteristic of meekness. Too often meekness is confused with
weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I saw a Sports Illustrated article a few years back. It was
a story of one of my heroes, The late Reggie White. Reggie was one of the most
feared defensive men in all of professional football. Not to mention possibly
one of the strongest. There was a picture of him with his youngest child in his
arms. Reggie was praying for that little one. That is Meekness, strength under
control.
Biblical greatness is to be encouraged. We live in a
generation where there are few flesh and blood heroes. Doing our absolute best
for The Savior should be encouraged. With the eyes of faith we see them every
day. The struggling single Mom who stops to be an example of faith in action by
helping those less fortunate then her. The Dad who works two jobs and stays up
late on Saturday night to polish his Sunday school lesson. It is there when we
are told there is no hope, yet we stay on our knees until the Doctor brings
news. Biblical Greatness is seen the small church Pastor who stands boldly for
God and asks for prayers for his cancer. The Humble life of the meekest servant
of the most high God. Yes it is very worthy of aspiration. I wonder how many
are willing to take the lowest place? Who has the Guts to be the greatest? Let
us pray:
Father thank you for wanting us to be childlike so that we
may learn to be strong and bold in our endeavors for you. Help us to remember
that it is not the one who is physically strongest that finds his place with you
but the one who is strong enough to show he is able to be meek and help those
around him. For that is true strength, when one knows that being the greatest
is not what is what truly matters. Thank you Father for teaching us that being
meek is a loving way to be. In Jesus’s name we thank you. Amen.
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