Even the Lord’s church is full of folks that look for position and importance above his brothers. It started before day one of the church with the apostles bickering among themselves about who was the greatest among them. (Luke 9:46, Matthew 18:1, Mark 9:34) Humans, by design, are full of ambition. This is a good thing – up to the point of where vanity is not kept in check.
Jesus used the innocence of children as a model of who will have importance in his Kingdom. Children still have the qualities we are all born with, but allow life and experience to choke out. These are qualities like:
The place of importance in God’s Kingdom is reserved for those with childlike qualities
- humility
- freedom from prejudice
- being teachable
- being lovable
- trustfulness
- faithfulness
- avoiding anxiety
- innocence
Jesus laid out his standard for importance in his eyes in Mark 9:35. If you plan to be ranked higher with him, then you will put others first. A Christian life is one of service. It is a service done in a humble manner, (Matthew 18:4) which is to say that it is service without expectation of reward or appreciation. (cf. Matthew 6:16-18)
The foundational commandments are to love God and to love others. (Luke 10:27) The definition of love contains all of the childlike qualities above. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) The place of importance in God’s kingdom belongs to those that love well.
Daily Bible reading for September 13
Psalm 42-43
2 Samuel 3
Ezekiel 2-3
Luke 9:1-50
September 13, 2013
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