Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 9
Daily Bread 2010 – Luke 9
Who Will Be the Greatest
46An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest."
49"Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."
50"Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."
We all remember the great boxer Muhammed Ali by the words he used to shout, “I am the greatest!” Of course he might have been the greatest boxer, but today Jesus talks about a different kind of greatness. Naturally as the disciples started to contemplate the roles they would play if Jesus were to leave them as he was predicting, they started to vie for their position.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus says that the greatest among them would be a servant, for even He did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom. (Mark 10:43-45). In a similar manner, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name, the least among you is the greatest!” Jesus redefines greatness by the ability to lead and welcome people, even the least among us, to Him.
Then the disciples change the topic and talk about a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name, and they tried to stop him because he was not one of them. To their chagrin Jesus says to them, “Do not stop him forever is not against you is for you.”
So often today we define others who are likewise doing these for Jesus, by whether they do it like we do. We in the church are always susceptible to think we are great because we are doing great things for Jesus. And we can be tempted to judge others work based on whether they are doing what we are doing. But Jesus blows up the disciple’s “God boxes” by letting them know that we are not to judge someone else’s work. God will judge each person’s work on the Day of Judgment. Until then, if someone else is doing something that is producing fruit, we are not to judge them just because we are not familiar with them or their method.
God is always at work bringing His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven and He often uses those who we might not think, like a little child. This reminds us that it is all about Him and not about us. We can’t take the credit for the work, only be thankful He uses us too!
Prayer: God thank you for the privilege of welcoming others in Your Name. God each day, help us to see others that we would welcome and keep us from judging who you might use to bring your Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Who Will Be the Greatest
46An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest."
49"Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."
50"Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you."
We all remember the great boxer Muhammed Ali by the words he used to shout, “I am the greatest!” Of course he might have been the greatest boxer, but today Jesus talks about a different kind of greatness. Naturally as the disciples started to contemplate the roles they would play if Jesus were to leave them as he was predicting, they started to vie for their position.
In Mark’s gospel, Jesus says that the greatest among them would be a servant, for even He did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom. (Mark 10:43-45). In a similar manner, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name, the least among you is the greatest!” Jesus redefines greatness by the ability to lead and welcome people, even the least among us, to Him.
Then the disciples change the topic and talk about a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name, and they tried to stop him because he was not one of them. To their chagrin Jesus says to them, “Do not stop him forever is not against you is for you.”
So often today we define others who are likewise doing these for Jesus, by whether they do it like we do. We in the church are always susceptible to think we are great because we are doing great things for Jesus. And we can be tempted to judge others work based on whether they are doing what we are doing. But Jesus blows up the disciple’s “God boxes” by letting them know that we are not to judge someone else’s work. God will judge each person’s work on the Day of Judgment. Until then, if someone else is doing something that is producing fruit, we are not to judge them just because we are not familiar with them or their method.
God is always at work bringing His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven and He often uses those who we might not think, like a little child. This reminds us that it is all about Him and not about us. We can’t take the credit for the work, only be thankful He uses us too!
Prayer: God thank you for the privilege of welcoming others in Your Name. God each day, help us to see others that we would welcome and keep us from judging who you might use to bring your Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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