Day 22 | Luke 22
“...But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. (Luke 22:26)
There is something within us that longs for greatness, that wants to to be important, that strive to be first. I can remember much of my life wanting to be the smartest, so I studied hard. I desired to be the most athletic, so I strove to train longer than everyone else. I wanted to do something important, so I would discover areas where I could insert myself where others weren’t. At every turn I sought to get ahead, but for all my striving I missed the most essential thing. In the Kingdom greatness is not defined by who is first, strongest, or best. Greatness is defined by who is willing to serve.
As Jesus is sitting down with his disciples at the last supper they still don’t get it. Jesus has modeled for them love and compassion, he has taught them about being like a child and that trusting in your wealth and power will not get you very far. Despite all these things at the Last Supper, in their final moments with Jesus, they are still debating about who is the greatest, who is the most important, and how they rank up against each other. (There is still hope for me yet.) So Jesus reminds them, that it isn’t about getting ahead, it is about bowing down and doing the things that others aren’t willing to do, by taking place to be a servant.
As this same conversation is happening in John’s Gospel Jesus does something unthinkable. The King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s wraps a towel around his waist and washes their feet. Jesus takes the lowest position to model for them how they should serve one another. In this season pause and pray and ask how you can serve one another. Ask how can you serve those in your family, in your church and in your community.
