Listen

He sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all.”

Mark 9:35

Think

Right after Jesus’ crew gets called out for the debate on who’s the greatest, Jesus offers a classic teaching moment. He teaches that if you want to be first, you must first be the servant of all. Leave it to Jesus to flip our whole worldview on its head. Greatness isn’t just service. Greatness is service to all. This doesn’t sound possible, does it?! This is one of those teachings we get to ignore, right?

Not so fast. Jesus knew we couldn’t hack this lesson on our own. We need all the help we can get to come anywhere close to serving others over ourselves. Where does this help come from? We certainly have Jesus’ life and ministry to show us the way of being about God’s work. We also have one another—beloved community—and together we sojourn through this Christian life with the scriptures, the Spirit, and the sweet fellowship among believers.

Alisha Damron Seruyange

Question to Ponder:

Who in your life is teaching you about being a servant to all?

Pray

God, help me loosen my grip on the things of life that matter less. Give me eyes to see others with the kind of love that you see in others. Give me a heart to serve.

Amen.

Go

Being great starts when we set our hearts toward the ways of God, connecting with God, and then loving the world more like God loves.