Today’s Devotion
Topic: Called To Be Great In Christ!
Text: Luke 9: 46- 48 (ESV)
An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by His side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives Him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” Amen
On their way to Capernaum one day, the disciples were arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest (cf. Mk. 10:33-37). “I’m the closest person to Jesus”, one might have said; “I’m one of the pioneer disciples”, another would declare; and still another, “I’m part of his inner circle friends”. On and on, the argument could continue.
The interesting thing is, the argument was being conducted in such a way that Jesus would not hear. However, being the GREATEST among the great and the all-knowing One, Jesus easily perceived the thoughts of their hearts, and then addressed the issue in two main folds.
Firstly, He called a child, placed him in the midst of them and He said: “whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (see Mt. 18:1-4). The first point is HUMILITY. The greatest to be (if any) must be the most humble servant there is. He or she is not required to be merely humble; but as humble as a child.
Beloved, children are sometimes the least regarded members of a household. Rather than asserting their importance for others to idolize them, they serve their parents and other grown-ups. The greatest servant sees service as his obligation and fulfils it with joy.
Secondly, our Lord said: “… for he who is least among you all is the one who is great”. He did not say ‘he who is LEAST among you all is the GREATEST’. Beloved, what we know from grammar is that superlatives must go with other superlatives, but not in this case! The faithful servant does not think he is the best of all. He is to see himself just as God sees him; a humble servant. The effect of that, however, is that God will make him great, but not the greatest around.
There are some of us who are truly humble and are serving well in various capacities in life, but we’re tempted to insist that we’re the most important figures. Well, our Lord has this to say to us: the LEAST among you is GREAT. It’s not about thinking yourself the greatest so that others remain insignificant as far as your standards are concerned. It is simply a call to be great just as the Lord wills for all others who will humble themselves before Him.
Meditate on this Word and begin to pray now. In whichever way you’ve asserted your importance, or you’ve placed yourself better than others, pray and ask for forgiveness. Also pray for the grace to work as the servant-child and to do so with all your heart. The favour of the Lord will then lift you up among the great for greater works and exploits. See you at church.
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