(Audio)
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Our God has made us for greatness and for glory. But this is a glory we can know, and a throne upon which we can sit only to the degree that we are willing to become servants. We ask for the wrong kind of greatness. Even the devout among us don't often begin by desiring what Jesus wants us to desire.
You do not know what you are asking.
We are called to partake of the divine nature (see Second Peter 1:4). But this is precisely the nature the emptied itself and took on the form of a servant (see Philippians 2:6-11). It is precisely this nature that came not to be served but to serve. He didn't do this out of some utilitarian calculus. He didn't do it simply to demonstrate for us something utterly foreign in himself. He did it to reveal the heart of God to us. It is this heart alone that is great. Only by sharing in it do we ourselves experience greatness.
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left,
this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
It is the heart of the Father, revealed by Jesus, living in us by the Spirit, that makes this holiness, this greatness, this humble service possible. Our fallen natures still prefer to believe that it is somehow more about power, or being right, or something that would at least be of benefit to oneself. But greatness, in the final analysis, is all about love.
Jesus speaks on our behalf to turn away the wrath we store up by insisting on the worldly ways of power and domination. He pleads for us to follow him to true greatness. He will work with our half-formed impulses toward love. He will draw from us the hearts of true servants if we will only give him room to do so.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
This is magnificent:
ReplyDelete"We are called to partake of the divine nature (see Second Peter 1:4). But this is precisely the nature the emptied itself and took on the form of a servant (see Philippians 2:6-11). It is precisely this nature that came not to be served but to serve. He didn't do this out of some utilitarian calculus. He didn't do it simply to demonstrate for us something utterly foreign in himself. He did it to reveal the heart of God to us. It is this heart alone that is great."