My devotions this morning where very uncomfortable…because God saw fit to hit me upside the head (which I often need). I had a whole other blogging topic lined up for today until this morning’s reading, reflection, and prayer.
The passage I read this morning was from Matthew 20:20-28. In this story James and John’s mother ask Jesus if He would make sure her sons had the place of honor in His kingdom. Now, don’t get me started on the whole issue that these “men” had to have their mommy ask Jesus such a question (I mean, come on, man up dudes). Jesus tells them that they don’t know what they are asking for and moves on.
That is until the other disciples heard about their request. How did they respond? Just like I would have…with indignation. In others words, they were peeved because they didn’t get to Jesus first. That’s when Jesus gets to the heart of the matter and really starts to meddle:
“Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave.”
Matthew 20:26-27
Jesus turns everything upside down:
Want to be a leader? Become a servant.
Want to be first? Become a slave.
My devotional book drove the point home for me even deeper, so instead of paraphrasing it, I’ll just print what it said and let you digest it for yourself:
Do we spend our days looking for those whom we might serve? Probably not. Our own agendas—godly though they may be—become so large and consuming that we rarely depart from them, at least not without feeling inconvenienced. Yet servanthood is integral to the gospel. Nowhere else does Jesus give us a path to greatness. Our desire to accomplish great things for God’s kingdom can only be fulfilled on this principle.
Color me convicted. I need to chew on this and ask God to transform my motivations from my own agendas to His agenda. I pray for a servant’s heart often…time to put it into practice.
