"Whoever would be great among you must be your servant." (Mark 10:43)
Two of the disciples came before Jesus and said, "Grant us what we ask." "What do you want?" said Jesus. "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." It reflected the culture of that day. These were two prominent members of Jesus' band of disciples, James and John. They wanted the positions of greatest honor when Jesus ushered in His kingdom. Jesus pointed out that it might be like that in the world, where rulers lord it over one another, but in His kingdom, the position of honor was being a servant. He even said, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." On the occasion of the Passover, Jesus went so far as to Himself wash the disciple's feet, modeling what He taught.
In a world where we 'have it our way' this model of leadership is rare. We are taught to excel, be the best, outdo everyone else. Even in the church people vie for positions of authority and respect. Where are the servants? Where are the leaders who are willing to be used up in service to their King? What does it really mean to be a servant?
I am not interested in blog discussions that deal with the theoretical. How about a discussion on real life servanthood. Are you one of the few, the unproud, the disciples? Nathan Barlow was a medical doctor who chose to use his skills in Ethiopia for over 60 years. Once during his time of service he developed a severe tooth ache that caused him to have to leave the mission field to be treated. He was so determined not to be away again from the mission field that he had all of his teeth pulled and replaced with false teeth. (Crazy Love, Francis Chan). We live in a comfortable environment in the church in the USA. Where is the servant spirit in leadership and ministry, and I am not talking about just the paid professionals, but the pew sitters as well?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
His Name is Jesus (Devotional)
"And Jesus cried out and said, 'Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me." (John 12:44-45)
C.S. Lewis once suggested that we can only conclude one of three things with regard to Jesus. He was a fruitcake (My words not his), a nut, a crazy, who thought He was someone that he wasn't; he was a liar that intentionally sought to deceive people; or He was actually God. There is no room for a nice guy, a good man, some great moralist. He claimed to be God. "He who sees me has seen Him who sent me."
In the opening words of the Gospel, John boldly declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And then he writes, "And the Word was made flesh and dwellt among us." Jesus was the only 200%er. He was 100% God, and He was 100% man. He was as much God as though He never became man, and He was as much man as though He never was God.
The other night I had an interesting dream. I was standing in a group looking at a car for sale. The group were people I had never met. And they got into a conversation about whether someone could know God or not. I spoke up and said, "I know God." They all then looked at me in amazement, until someone voiced what all were thinking, "If you know God, what is His name?" "That's easy," I said. Someone said, "Is his name Buddha?" Another asked, "Is His name Mohammed?" And there were others. I said, "His name is Jesus."
And the Word of God says, "It is the name above every other name. It is the name at which one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, Jesus Christ is Lord."
C.S. Lewis once suggested that we can only conclude one of three things with regard to Jesus. He was a fruitcake (My words not his), a nut, a crazy, who thought He was someone that he wasn't; he was a liar that intentionally sought to deceive people; or He was actually God. There is no room for a nice guy, a good man, some great moralist. He claimed to be God. "He who sees me has seen Him who sent me."
In the opening words of the Gospel, John boldly declares, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." And then he writes, "And the Word was made flesh and dwellt among us." Jesus was the only 200%er. He was 100% God, and He was 100% man. He was as much God as though He never became man, and He was as much man as though He never was God.
The other night I had an interesting dream. I was standing in a group looking at a car for sale. The group were people I had never met. And they got into a conversation about whether someone could know God or not. I spoke up and said, "I know God." They all then looked at me in amazement, until someone voiced what all were thinking, "If you know God, what is His name?" "That's easy," I said. Someone said, "Is his name Buddha?" Another asked, "Is His name Mohammed?" And there were others. I said, "His name is Jesus."
And the Word of God says, "It is the name above every other name. It is the name at which one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, Jesus Christ is Lord."
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