To be the Greatest in the Kingdom of God
ICS Daily Devotions
Mark 9:33-35 (NKJV) Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
Jesus revealed to us God’s definition of greatness in the Kingdom of God, which is to be a servant to all! Therefore, the way to be promoted in the Kingdom of God is to be humble to serve everyone regardless of their age, class in society, gender, colour, and nationality. He wants us to serve everyone in love and humility. God gives grace to the humble. Therefore, it is better to be humble and rewarded by the Lord than to be proud and humbled by Him.
If we don’t renew our minds about how leadership works in the Kingdom of God, we will end up like the disciples mentioned in this passage, who were disputing who was the greatest among them! We often think that the twelve Apostles were superhumans and saints, but they were just as human as each one of us, even though they all contributed tremendously to the preaching and the spreading of the Gospel around the world.
Therefore, nobody in the church should think that they are too important to do minor chores or take simple responsibilities in church. In fact, serving in the Kingdom of God or the church will require us to be faithful with the little before God promotes us to do greater things. It also means if we used to be a leader of our old church, this doesn’t automatically make us a leader in another church—church leadership is non-transferable. In fact, if we have the right attitude of a servant, we won’t complain why we must start showing faithfulness with the little all over again.
One of the humblest things we can do for the Kingdom of God is work behind the scenes in ministries such as media, editing, translation, and the finance and legal committees. They are truly the unsung heroes in the church.
Someone who understands what servant leadership is will not demand privileges and entitlement in the church because the signs of a mature and learned student of the Bible will show forth grace and humility. It should not matter what position we hold in the secular world or how wealthy we are. Instead, all of us should choose to serve and treat one another with respect. So let us all have a servant’s heart and glorify God with our gifts and talents!
Sermon Series: ServeFest
