When James
and John approached Jesus and asked Him about sitting at His side in heaven,
they didn’t like the answer they were given.
Jesus explained to them that God will be the one to assign those
places. Jesus concluded by telling them
that if a person wants to be great, he must first be the servant of the rest,
and if one wants to be first, he must be the slave of all.
This
scripture reminds me of a lesson I learned early in life. It was the first day of my first grade year
of school. The teacher instructed the
class to line up at the door—we were going on a tour of the school. Naturally, I made my way to the front of the
line. I proceeded to oust the boy who
had beat me to the spot. He, not willing
to move aside, left me no choice… the fight was on. In spite of the fact that I felt I had won
the battle, I got three licks and was sentenced to tour the school from the back of the line. Later that afternoon, I remember my mom’s
lengthy explanation that left me understanding why it was that I could not
always be first. She said, “Sometimes
you have to start at the back of the line and hope to work your way to the
front.” Similarly, I think what Jesus
was saying in this scripture is that if we want to live our lives in a way that
would be pleasing to God, we must humble ourselves and put others ahead of us.
Prayer: Dear God, We want to be your servants. Help us to remember to humble ourselves and
not always think that we have to be first.
As we approach Easter, help us remember that your Son came to serve and
to give us life so that we, too, could serve many people. Amen.
Bob Bruner
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