Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Greatest!


 


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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