40 DAYS in the GOSPEL Sample

WINNING IN LAST PLACE

My family and I (Josiah) got the opportunity to go to the beach one day. As we walked back to the car, two of my kids challenged me to a race. Now, they had been doing this since the day they could run, and it was always fun. This time was going to be different though. This turned out to be my first opportunity as a dad to be beaten in a race by my own kids.

As we pounded to the finish line, everyone was smiling big. The two of them were excited to have beaten their dad, and I was feeling a special kind of joy that comes from watching people you love become who you knew they could be. Wasn’t I upset to lose a race to kids though? It never entered my mind to be upset which is kind of weird because, trust me, I hate to lose. I think what made the difference this time was that I didn’t feel like I had lost anything. I was just in the right place at the right time to watch two people I cared about literally run into the next chapter of their lives.

In our passage today, Jesus is trying to give His disciples this opportunity. This passage and others like it in the New Testament, are often misinterpreted as Jesus teaching His followers that holiness will somehow make you happy to be in last place. But that is missing the point. What Jesus has in mind, and what He lived out in His ministry, is much more powerful than that.

When Jesus says that real joy and blessedness are found in last place by those who see themselves as the servant of everyone else, He is not being ironic or mystical. I got a glimpse of this truth as I fell behind that day on the beach. We get a much clearer view as we witness Jesus going willingly to the cross for not only our sins but also the sins of the whole world. From up on that cross, Jesus was able to witness the freedom and everlasting joy of all those who would look to Him for salvation from their sins. It was the most glorious and powerful act of any human ever and it was done in last place as far as the standards of this world are concerned.

This is the heart of the gospel message. True joy is hidden in humility. It's not to be found by measuring ourselves against our neighbor and heading for the front of the pack. It's sitting right there to be enjoyed by those who are willing to welcome little ones, the least of these, in Jesus' name. It's found there because that is where Jesus is, and one of the little ones He has welcomed is you.

PRAY ABOUT IT: Wherever there is fear of falling behind, envy of others, or a desire to see others fail, invite God in, and ask Him what you are missing. Ask Him to give you eyes that see the way Jesus does.