Becoming Great!

Becoming great in America is a big deal. Parents and coaches are pushing children and teens to reach as far as they can to be – not always the best player they can be in that position they are asked to fill on the team. But to be the best ever on that team so that someday they can be the best that ever lives. (Now of course not all parents or coaches, so read on before you want to send me a nasty response.) But Jesus called to something totally different. Jesus called us to be LAST!        Jesus measured greatness in a totally different way. Jesus measured greatness in terms of service, NOT STATUS.

I own and read many books over the years on leadership, but very few on being a servant. Jesus’ own disciples in the last week of his life were arguing about prominence and position, when he had to teach them that it wasn’t about those things, it was about service. On the night that Jesus was betrayed (let those words sink in for a moment, on the night that he was to be betrayed, someone he loved was going to roll over on Jesus and he was going to be cruelly crucified) he got down on his knees and washed his betrayer’s feet. Jesus showed them and us how we are to love other people. Not by getting power over them, but by serving, even our enemies. So today, we must be praying for God to reveal to us ways that we can serve others. How we can lose to win, to go down to rise up! It’s not an easy action most of the time, but it’s the one action that we know God has called us to. Let’s serve somebody today