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It Shall Not Be So Among You

Been reading through the Gospel of Mark in my times alone with my Father. It has been so sweet and reassuring to walk through the life of Christ through the lens of one of His closest followers. As I read yesterday in Mark 10, I felt a connection to the disciples who felt both “amazed” and “afraid” as they followed their Master (vs. 32, “Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid.”). I am so thankful that He can handle us in all our mixture.

Something that really jumped off the page, though, was in the part of the story where James and John asked boldly to be placed in the highest place of honor beside Jesus when He came into His kingdom. Jesus had just told them in detail what was going to happen to Him: He would be betrayed, condemned, mocked, scourged, spit upon, and killed! He also predicted that three days later He would rise again.

And, just as many of us do, these two guys kind of missed what Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, was telling them–they were too involved in their own personal agendas to see that they were being invited into something far greater than anything they could have imagined! But that greater thing involved death, pain, suffering…not many of us are willing to sign up for that. In our humanity, we crave comfort, luxury, prosperity, = happiness. We gravitate towards anything that offers us this, and we cringe away from those things that include pain = unhappiness. James and John were imagining their Jesus to be one who would fix every problem for them and bring them into an inner circle to be envied by the world around them. This was not exactly what God had in mind though…He had something stranger, something better.

I can’t believe it, but at least these guys were authentic enough to be bold in their approach with Jesus. They didn’t sugarcoat anything; they came right out and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” (Isn’t this how we often approach God? We might not come right out with these words, but what we do is try to figure out just the right wording in our prayers to get God to do whatever it is we want Him to do. I know I’m all too guilty of this myself.)

So Jesus allowed them to give Him their request, knowing already what it was, and knowing that they wouldn’t be ready to handle what it would cost them to receive what they were asking for. They overestimated their own strength and abilities because they were unaware of the significance of their request and what it would actually cost. (For the detailed story, see Mark 10:32-42.)

The part of the story that jumped off the page, though, is further down–after Jesus explains that if we are to follow Him, we must count the cost, because it costs to count. Many people want what others have, but are completely unwilling to do what those “others” did to get what they have–be that position, power, influence, financial peace, intimacy with God, etc. Thankfully, to have what really matters, Jesus paid it all for us. What a Savior!

But don’t get me off topic. 😉

Jesus explained,

42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. (My note: this is how the world system works~SH) 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” 

(parenthetical statement & emphasis mine)

Remember, Jesus was speaking to His closest friends and followers, and He was saying that specifically “among” those of us who consider ourselves to be His disciples, that He has a way that is far superior to the ways that the world in general operates. I used to read this passage about the first being last and the one wanting to rule being made slave of all and see this as a form of punishment from God for those who wanted to be in first place. It was as though He was saying, “I’ll put you in your place if you try this–I’ll get you, my pretty!” But I no longer see God as the great and powerful punisher of the world. Far from it!

In His grace, He leads me into situations that develop in me a Christ-likeness (i.e. attitude, worldview, beliefs, which lead to behavior). If I “have to” be in first place to feel validated, He knows I’ll never be satisfied because I’ve put something else in the place of God, and this will never lead me to wholeness! In His love and mercy, He will not allow me to get the promotion or position if it’s going to feed my pride. He will take me through humbling circumstances that strip me of all those externals so that I will come to find my worth, my value, and yes, my glory, in Christ ALONE.

Is this because He Himself is prideful or arrogant? All about Himself?

Absolutely Not!

It’s because He is the uncreated One, the Source, the Place, and Person my soul most longs for! It’s because He knows what is best for us. It is because of His love for us that He won’t allow us to get everything we ask for. In His love and mercy and grace, He will love us enough to strip away those things keeping us from our ultimate best. And the sooner we begin to embrace His love for us, the sooner we are able to yield ourselves to the process He chooses to take us through. (“…for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame…” Hebrews 12:2) Jesus understands the pain of this process first-hand!

God’s system is vastly different than our own. When we begin, by faith, to live out of who God says we are, we begin to comprehend the wisdom of trusting Him to decide upon our place in this world and the one to come. This leads to REST–not rest from work or service or ministry, but soul rest that energizes us for and in the work. It ceases to be about my striving or self-effort to prove or please, but begins to come from something far better: trust in the One who becomes absolutely everything to me, and in this, He is so pleased!

This reminds me of what Paul taught the Galatians when he said, (as the Message puts it in Galatians 3:2-4a): “Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?” (emphasis mine)

Just as faith by grace brought me salvation, faith by grace is also what keeps me in God’s good graces in the here and now–when I try, by my own self-effort, to please Him, I never rest. It becomes all about what I am doing or trying really hard to NOT do–thereby leaving the place of humility. Wow. May this not be so “among” us who call Christ our Savior! May we place our faith in Him, the One who offers grace. And may we continue in faith to trust in His grace to determine where we need to be in the here and now. May we trust Him enough to yield our agendas and embrace His. May we submit ourselves in humility and trust so that He might determine what it is He would have us “do” with our lives–as He lives in and empowers us for that calling. May we trust in Him to lead us through our own personal journeys with Him, wherever He leads, without comparing our lives, our situations, our “anythings” to others. May we be freed up to be in the position He has for us–trusting that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross AND in the Throne Room of Grace! (Hebrews 4)

And as a final thought: may we not impose this on our unbelieving friends. Why do we expect that unbelievers would embrace a system that was given to believers? Rather, may we, in humility and faith, trust the One in us to live through us that we might allow our lights to shine His light and love to a lost and searching world. It is Christ who brings lasting change; may I be one He can use to bring people to Himself.