IN GOD'S COUNTERINTUITIVE KINGDOM
MARK 10:42-45
MARK 10:42-45 NKJ
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. 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."
Jesus was having to intervene in a staff dispute over jockeying for position and authority.
James and John had come to Jesus and asked to sit on His right and left hand in His Kingdom. So, for the inner circle of James, John, and Peter, they left Peter out. As you can imagine, this did not sit well with Peter and the others. James and John had just asked to be elevated over the other ten. Doesn't hurt to ask, does it?
Jesus used this staff strife for a teachable moment and pointed out a clear distinction between His kingdom and how the kingdom of men operated.
With man's kingdoms, power and authority went to the strong. Rulers exercised this authority and went to great lengths to keep it.
But not in God's Kingdom. And in God's Kingdom, of which Jesus was the King, there was a different path to greatness. It's not who had the power but who could serve the most. God's kingdom was not about what you could get but what you could give.
Then Jesus capped off this teaching using Himself as an example. He did not come to be served. If anyone deserved to be served, it was Jesus. Rather, Jesus came to serve and to give. Not simply give His time, love, and effort, but give His life to pay the price to free mankind from sin and darkness. He gave so we could live free.
APPLICATION:
The culture of an organization starts at the top. As is the leader, so is the culture, and so is the pattern to follow. In God's Kingdom, the leader who sets the tone is Jesus. His example of serving and giving is the pattern for those of us who love and follow Him as our Lord and Savior. How can we better serve? How can we give of ourselves? As we answer those questions, we set ourselves up for advancement in God's counterintuitive Kingdom.
PRAYER:
Thank You, Lord, for coming to serve. Thank You for giving Your life to set me free and ransom me from the kingdom of darkness. Show me how I can better serve and give my life to help others.