"He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” -Mark 9:35
This is such a big concept. To understand and embrace the call to humility.
In the Bess/Guttendorf Clan there was an order we followed with every family gathering. Feed the children and those with special needs, then the husbands... and then the women go through the line. Then, we did the dishes. It was the way it was. It was how they loved and nurtured and fed our big Bess Bunch!!
I remember standing in the kitchen with Great Grandma Hulda, learning to dry dishes with a flour sack towel surrounded by my Aunts and Mama. They were teaching the next generation to serve.
My first boss in my first professional job picked up on my tendency to go last a work potluck. It became a game between us. Mike would wait, watch, and then instruct me to go before him... and he was the boss. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I smile at the memory.
Jesus said the first would be last and the last would be first... and we must become willing servants to all. Our message today was on Saul/Paul's conversion. He went from being an agent against "The Way" to embracing what it meant to suffer for the gospel. In the scriptures, Jesus warns him it won't be an easy path at his conversion.
How much time did he spend in jail? He was flogged, beaten, jailed, and misrepresented. Still, he served with humility. His name change was necessary. Saul was not the same man. Paul was a new creature in Christ. The old Saul was power hungry and hate filled. The new creature was not quiet and demure, but he oozed love, hope, wisdom, joy, and so much more.
He served all who crossed his path (and would listen) to the message of hope, truth and new life in Jesus.
Today, I am grateful for "servants to all."
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