MY POSITION IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN MY SERVICE
- Key Verse
- Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.” (Luke 9:46–48 NLT-SE)
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Central Truth
If you want to get close to Jesus, you have to get close to the people He loves.
Reflections
In this chapter, the disciples were learning some valuable lessons about the power of God as they saw God at work casting out demons, healing diseases, feeding 5,000 plus people with five loaves and two fish. They heard Jesus as he taught them that the only way to be a disciple of Christ was to take up their cross daily and follow him. It is amazing how many people Jesus served in this short time frame.After all of this, the disciples begin to argue about which of them was the greatest. How typical of human nature. We are around Jesus enough to know that we can’t do anything on our own and yet we want to know where we are placed in the Kingdom of God. Jesus' response was to call to himself a child, whom in that culture had little value to the system–an annoyance actually. But a child’s faith is not complicated. It is unassuming and simple. They understand that they are dependent on others.
My first trip to El Salvador was an eye opening experience. I was with a team of people building a church in some remote village where there seemed to be very few people. We gave some candy to some of the kids who were following us and before too long the place was filled with children. They came for the candy and they loved playing games and listening to us try and speak their language. I was able to teach them the game of baseball using pomegranates and sticks. They simply followed because they were given love and attention. My job was not to be “The Pastor.” It was to be a friend to children. It was to welcome them as if they were the most important people in the world. It was to express the love of Jesus through the act of serving. Jesus doesn’t get hung up on titles or positions like we do. Jesus wants us to care, and in that caring, we get close to Him.
Discussion Questions
1. When do you feel closest to Jesus?2. When was the last time you saw people struggle over their position at work or at church? What did it accomplish?
3. How are you serving others with love and acceptance?
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