“Then there was an argument among them as to which of them would be the greatest….Then He said to them…‘Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.’” Lk. 9:46; 48
Just prior to this verse, in Lk. 43-45, we learn that everyone was marveling over the wonderful things Jesus was doing. The disciples in particular were so caught up in outward appearances and personal significance issues that they completely missed what Jesus said next: listen and remember. Knowing full-well that they would not understand, Jesus went on to tell them about His betrayal. And wouldn’t you know it, rather than focusing on what Jesus was trying to communicate to them, the very next thing the disciples do is argue over who’s greatest among them!
The crowd focused on the miracles, Jesus focused the disciples in on His betrayal, and the disciples chose to focus on who’s the greatest. ~~That’s a pretty sad commentary! But aren’t we just like them today? …At times, don’t we get caught up in our personal agendas and miss Jesus’ primary speaking point? …Don’t we secretly (or not so secretly) wonder why we weren’t dealt a more significant role in this world…or better recognized for the role we do play?
Jesus exhorts us to listen and remember words such as these:
- We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph. 2:10 God crafted my unique purpose before I was born.
- The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. Ps. 138:8 God has a distinct calling on my life.
- He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil.1:6 God started this work and He will finish it.
- No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. Heb.5:4 God’s in charge of recognition & results, I’m in charge of obeying His promptings.
God beckons us to realize our personalized calling and to make the most of our unique positions of influence as He directs. ~~Not reserving ‘our best’ for clout positions, while neglecting the significance of our influence in the common places of our everyday lives (like our role as a mentor, friend, father, husband, wife, or mother). No, like with Jesus and His disciples, it’s within these more common places and relationships that our unique calling is generally most valuable. ~~How many of us know successful business personalities, pastors, etc. who seem to “have it all”…only to find that their intimate relational life is a dysfunctional mess?
A personal illustration: After diligently seeking God’s counsel, years ago we chose to keep Betsy from a money-making job outside the home in order for her to fulfill her call of “domestic engineer and neck”. (What’s a neck? Simply put, two head chiefs in one home don’t function optimally. So, in our household, Shaun’s the “head of the household” and Betsy’s the “neck of influence”!)
And ever since making this ‘outside the cultural norm decision’, we’ve had to overcome regular raised eyebrow questioning as to Betsy’s worth as ‘a value-add human for our industrious society’…especially when we lived in the Bay Area. (At times, particularly during the hormonal baby-nursing years, this societal pressure really got to her!) ~~For not until 15-20 years later have we and society even begun to see the enormous influence that this pivotal God-directed decision continues to make.
Question: Do you believe God has a unique purpose for your life? If so, are you victoriously walking in it? If so, keep on keeping on!!! And if not…why not???
God bless you this week!
Shaun and Betsy
