First and Last

First and Last
Words of Faith 1-25-2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 9
[33] They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" [34] But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
[35] Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
[36] He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, [37] "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

Back home in Capernaum, there were some unresolved issues. Jesus has been aware of the competition between the disciples. It could hardly be ignored. The Twelve had been arguing about who among them was the greatest.
We don't have a record of that discussion, but Jesus knew all about it. Perhaps Peter, James, and John had shared with the others about the Transfiguration and pointed out they were the greatest because they had been allowed this privilege. It might have been that Jesus took them up the mountain so they would not get into trouble while He was gone. Still, it would have been easy for them to interpret that they were somehow "better" among the Twelve.
All this allowed Jesus to share a profound Kingdom truth: "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Wow. That wasn't what the disciples were expecting to hear.
Then Jesus illustrated. He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." Now, that was powerful! Children had no status or power in the ancient world. There was nothing to gain politically by befriending a child. Yet Jesus was clear that the one who welcomes the powerless, the person without status, has received not just Jesus but God the Father.
A truth like that shuts down all the "who's the greatest" talk.
The truth is that the one who truly desires to be great in the Kingdom will jockey quietly for the back of the line, not drawing attention. The Kingdom person will defer, quite discreetly, to the concerns of others. The person invaded by God's Kingdom will quietly clean up without complaint. The person who is sold out for the Kingdom will put another person's needs ahead of personal inconvenience without undue attention.
Still struggling to grasp all of this? You are not alone. It took the first disciples quite a while as well.

Lord, I want to be a Kingdom person. I want to be great in Your Kingdom. Show me how today. Remind me of the real greatness that comes in a life poured out for others. Show me how to welcome the powerless. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.