“And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.””
-Mark 9:35
Nobody wants to hear this. It’s not in our nature to want to be last. It’s in our hearts to be first; to succeed. The devotion I read this morning talks about this specifically. Jesus didn’t rebuke the disciples for their natural desire to succeed. He simply told them HOW to succeed. It’s not as you would expect. The path that leads your heart to the place that provides peace and truth is thru serving and giving and humility. Over and over again He explains this.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves…”
-Philippians 2:3
“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”
-John 13:3-5 NKJV
His actions even explained this as above. His living testimony was one of meekness and humility. I mean, He performed miracles and brought people back to life, healed the sick, and cast out demons. Yet, He simply allowed Himself to be captured and then tortured and then hung on a cross to die. The Son of God, God Himself, did not save Himself the suffering as we all have to believe He absolutely could if He was truly God. But isn’t that the point? If He did things as we would have Him do, then He wouldn’t be our Father teaching us about our existence. Would He? Our plans are narrow and selfish. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t loved and considered wonderful. If we make plans in the hopes of allowing God to be the One actually doing the work in us, if we aim at humbling ourselves and aiming our hearts in each moment at His will, if we BELIEVE that what He says is true: to be first we must be last, then we will give our lives to Him daily and we will walk in love amongst our brothers and sisters. The design is not ours. Thank God! And yet, it allows us to be a part of it. To be integral. To be able to be our natural selves while learning His ways above our own. Does that make sense? Maybe not. But if it doesn’t, it’s because we may still be holding on to that illusive “control.” LET GO! Give yourself today to God. Let Him lead you. Believe me! I am telling you from experience that His ways are true and real and they work. Be last today! You’ll find yourself in a place of unknown peace the likes of which you were unaware! Get up! Get out there and get you some of this day!!
Godspeed!