Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35 NIV)
Bookstores are full of self-help books, shelves and shelves of books telling you how to be the greatest. How you can accomplish what you want to accomplish, how to be your own boss, how to make a million dollars, how to do just about everything. They hit on just about any topic that people want to improve on.
Yet, here we see Jesus’ version of a self-help book. When telling his disciples how they can be great. How they can be first. And it looks really strange at first. Most self-help books would tell you to visualize what you want, or to reach out and take it. But not Jesus. He tells us that to be first, we must be the very last. We must live a life of service.
I’ve met some incredible men and women of God in my life. I’ve worked under some incredible leaders. The ones I most look up to are the ones who have learned this principle well. A boss who is willing to serve those under him, a leader who sacrifices for her team, those are the people I want to be like.
Jesus is the perfect example. Though he was God, he humbled himself and came to earth. He stepped down out of heaven, and came to this messed up planet we call home, not for his own good, but for ours. Think about that for a minute. I don’t even like to leave my comfortable couch, and he left heaven.
Today, we have an incredible opportunity to serve those around us. Whether holding a door open, or taking out someone’s trash, or mowing a neighbors yard, or volunteering to clean out the office fridge. We have an opportunity to not only make a difference, but to live like Christ.
Father, open up an opportunity for me to serve someone today, not for a pat on the back, but so that You would get the credit and the glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
-Seth Caddell is the guest devotion writer for this week. He is the Associate Minister of Adult Ministries at Northside, and blogs over at www.LifeAsExperienced.com
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