New Testament

The Greatest of All

| Marie Griffith

Have you ever been embarrassed for someone? Like when American Idol aired some of the most awful auditions at the beginning of the season. Watching the ones who couldn’t sing, try to sing.

I have the same feeling when I read the story about the mother of James and John asking Jesus for her sons to be placed in seats of honor beside him, one on his left and the other on his right (Matthew 20:20:28). Jesus basically answered them with, You have no idea what you’re asking. The other disciples were furious when they found out, probably because of their own selfish desire to be at the top.

Did the disciples hear anything Jesus said ever? Were they blinded by their self-centered concerns?

There are more “greatest of all” discussions among the disciples. One of them happened shortly after Jesus washed their feet and shared a meal with them. The night before Jesus was arrested and would soon die for them, the disciples argued over who of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24-30).

It’s embarrassing and unsettling to read these stories. Unsettling because I’ve done the same thing. In a different way, but the same thing. I’ve never asked for a place of honor, but I’ve thought I was more honorable. I’ve thought I was more than. More faithful, more loving, more deserving. I’ve thought I was less than. Less faithful, less loving, less deserving.

The disciples were just doing out loud what we do in our heads all the time. We don’t argue with our friends about who’s the greatest, but we think we’re favored because of the books we read, the Bible studies we teach, or the classes we take. We feel entitled to the good life because of our great faith and good deeds. Or we compare and feel less than, and in our silent quest to feel important we strive and push our way to the top of a religious system that has nothing to do with following Jesus.

Thinking to ourselves or saying it out loud, comparisons are rarely a good thing. Unfortunately, it’s what we do and we must work really hard not to give in to feeling more than or less than others. If the disciples walked with Jesus and still had trouble with this one, we know it’s going to be a difficult one for us to grasp as well.

We define greatness in terms of human endeavor, accomplishments, and status, but Jesus turned that upside down. He said things like:

But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant.  Luke 22:26

The greatest person in the kingdom of heaven is the one who makes himself humble like this child.  Matthew 18:4

Whoever accepts this little child in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me, because whoever is least among you all is really the greatest.  Luke 9:48

You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you.   Mark 10:42-43a

Not so with us.

Father, create in us clean hearts. Let us see when we’re comparing and striving, then cause us to turn to You, our All in All, the Greatest of All.

 

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Photo by Valario Davis on Unsplash

Courage Giver

| Marie Griffith

I received the best kind of text this morning. A spontaneous one from a friend who thought about me, then texted me to let me know she thought about me. That would have been enough to make me smile but she sent a powerful message of encouragement and some verses for me to think about throughout the week.

Her encouragement turned a manic Monday into a happy one.

Another friend and I are wrapping up our study of Ephesians this week, so I was reading the final verses of chapter 6. Paul ends the letter telling the believers at Ephesus he is sending Tychicus to them.

Ever heard of Tychicus? I’ve read his name several times, but I skimmed right over it without a second thought. His name is found in Acts and other letters and it’s obvious Tychicus was close with Paul and an important part of the ministry. Paul called him a beloved brother and a faithful minister and sent the man to update them on what’s happening with everything. What makes me wonder about this guy, Tychicus, is what Paul says about why he is sending him.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.   Ephesians 6:22

He says the exact same thing in Colossians 4:7-8. He sent Tychicus to encourage their hearts.

Paul knew what it was to be discouraged and feel weighed down with doubt and worry. He knew the pain of loneliness and fear and remembered how words of truth and encouragement were vital during his darkest seasons.

When Paul couldn’t do it himself, he sent Tychicus to give courage to weary hearts. To strengthen weakened faith. To uplift downcast faces. To give hope and light and love.

We are told to encourage one another too. (2 Corinthians 13:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:11) And do it daily, as long as it’s called today. (Hebrews 3:13)

Because every one of us needs courage.

We don’t know what each person is facing each day, but we can guess from personal experience it’s hard a lot of times. A kind word from a friend can bring a moment of sweetness in the most terrible day. Someone cheering us on can give us the extra push we need to keep at it. A note reminding us of God’s promises can lift us from sadness and help us keep believing the promises.

My friend sent a text. Paul sent Tychicus. Both were courage givers and God only knows what good happened because hearts were encouraged.

 

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Our Trademark

| Marie Griffith

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:34-35

I’m not sure why, but the second verse was rolling around in my head all weekend and it prompted me to read the passage where it’s found and then some.

These words found in the Gospel of John are part of the final instructions Jesus gave to his disciples before he was arrested and crucified. With his public ministry completed, Jesus spent the last hours before his arrest with them.

I wondered about the new part, because this is not a new command. ‘Love your neighbor’ was part of the Mosaic Law from the beginning. Matthew Henry said in his commentary, “it is like an old book in a new edition corrected and enlarged. This commandment had been so corrupted by the traditions of the Jewish church that when Christ revived it, and set it in a true light, it might well be called a new commandment. Laws of revenge and retaliation were so much in vogue, and self-love had so much the ascendant, that the law of brotherly love was forgotten as obsolete and out of date; so that as it came from Christ new, it was new to the people.”

The commandment was new in experience. For the first time, the people had a perfect example of love in human flesh and they were about to see it in an even more powerful way.

So, love is how everyone will know we follow Jesus. It’s our thing….our trademark.

Love. That’s how everyone will know. It’s not the church we attend. It’s not our denomination, education, or accumulation. Our traditions, rituals, network, or political views. It’s not our Facebook posts, YouTube channels or Twitter feed.

It’s our love for one another. And it’s not just the kind that says the right words.

John wrote in his first epistle: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.’ 1 John 3:18

Then I remember what it says in Paul’s famous love passage:
“If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”  1 Corinthians 13 MSG

Without love, we are nothing. We are ambassadors of Jesus, commanded to love like he did.

It would be easier to finish this post using the collective “we” because it keeps me from having to look closely at my own life and asking myself, “do people know I follow Jesus by the way I love others?”

But I can’t dodge the question and I can’t compare myself to others. I’m commanded to love as he has loved me and honestly, I mess it up a lot of the time. Most of the time. On my own it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.

He never asks us to do something without giving us what we need to do it. And what He has given us is Himself.

Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

Without love, I am nothing.

Father, thank you for Your love and grace. Show me how to love others like You love me. Deliver me from the love of my own comfort and make me willing to serve others. Make me more and more desperate for You and keep me in the light of Your love. Show me Your ways and align my heart with Yours, so I see others the way you see them. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me. I love You.

Photo courtesy of Joanna Schley