WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

"And they came to Capernaum. When he was at home, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way? But they held their peace, because in the way they had talked about who was the greatest. "Mark 9: 33,34

The disciples lived with Jesus, the Son of God, who was born humbly with a manger crib, and for the first room a stable. He was born in an insignificant village called Bethlehem, into a simple and poor family. He worked as a carpenter and had nothing except the clothes he wore.

Paul describes Jesus as the humble and obedient servant, obedient unto death and the death of the cross (Philippians 2: 8). The prophet Isaiah describes him as a man of pain, unattractive and despised by all (Isaiah 53: 2,3). Although Lord of all and of all, Jesus is a humble servant and says, "I came not to be ministered unto but to minister." (Mark 10: 45) He never taught His disciples about the kind of greatness they were seeking.

Nor did it need to, for it is a kind of greatness that naturally springs up in us, based on position, possessions, appearances. It is a greatness that divides, drives away, prevents. It is a partner of superficiality. It never produces the best around us, let alone ourselves. The disciples were discussing who was the greatest, just as today we dispute who is right, who is more important and we value indicators that put us above the others. And so, swollen, we do not grow, we do not believe, we do not love, we attach ourselves to things of lesser importance as if they were the most important. This condition we run the risk of being in it is a kind of slavery, a kind of blindness.

We need to do something about it and we do not have to do it alone. Even because, we could hardly. God offers us His presence and grace. With Him we can learn about what matters about what will flood our lives with meaning. In submission to Christ we will know the ways God has proposed for our lives and escape the illusions created by our pride and selfishness. Today is a good day to evaluate our yearnings, goals and beliefs. From what we have been discussing, what victory are we seeking? Which of us is the greatest? May Jesus be our Lord and learn with Him about the greatness of faith, love, service and humility.

Daily Devotional