Who wants to be first?

“Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28

We are roughly into four weeks of college football now and if you have watched any games, you have probably seen many hands with their index finger pointed up to Paradise after a score; WE ARE Number ONE!  Doesn’t matter if their team is 0-4.  If their team scored a touchdown, in their minds they are indeed number one.  Isn’t that what we strive to be?  Numero Uno.  In this passage from Matthew, Mrs. Zebedee wants to get her sons James and John placed up next to Jesus on His Throne.  Sinful fisherman in a place of honor?

We are by nature, sinful and unclean; not number one material.  The First Commandment tells us that we are to have NO other gods…than our Triune God.  Jesus tells us to be first…we must be a servant.  That was and is His model for our lives; be a Servant.  My congregation has one Pastor and that is all we need.  Pastor Smith leads and we follow and serve him and our Lord Jesus as we set out on our life’s journey.  Trinity HOPE has one person as our CEO and there are countless volunteers accomplishing many activities to bring food into the bowls of Haitian school children.  We are serving our Lord Jesus by helping to further the message of Hope throughout Haiti. 

Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.  Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

May God be with you,

Jay