Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
Our attitude is supposed to be different now. We have been born anew to a living hope. This doesn't come about because we have enough silver or gold or any other ways of earning it. Perishable things like those can't help us here. Only the precious Blood of the spotless unblemished Lamb can save us from futility and make us new.
The risk is that we forget this treasure we have and slide back into trying to get ahead. We hear about the cross and we are all too ready to start comparing ourselves to others so at least we can take some satisfaction in being better than them.
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
Yet the cross is good at revealing our self-delusions to us. We can't cling to the lies of pride and the cross at once. We will drink the chalice Jesus drinks. But we don't really understand what that means until it happens. Our pride says we are strong enough for anything. But to follow Jesus we need to remember who we are in him. Then we know that the perishable things which the cross may prune from us are not our core identity. Our core identity is in Jesus.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:
"All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever."
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
The abiding word of God is where we must find our root and our strength. Any other basis is built on sand. Only in the word of God do we find the peace and safety for which we long.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
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