The Upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God
Reading for Monday April 3
Selected passage: Mark 9:30-41
What were you arguing about? That was Jesus’ question to his companions as he traveled towards Jerusalem, on his last journey before crucifixion. They were too embarrassed to tell him that they had been arguing about who was the greatest.
The greatest, by earthly standards, gets the power. Power to do things our way, or to gather still more power. The greatest, by earthly standards, doesn’t need to suffer from feelings of inferiority, he’s proved his superiority. The greatest is at the top of the ladder; other people envy him and try to emulate him.
The kingdom of God is upside down. Humility and service are the measuring rods of heavenly greatness. God is the rewarder; he sees the unseen acts of kindness and counts the cups of water given in his name.
God is a condescending God. He waits for people rather than demanding that they come now. He is patient rather than sweeping us away because we are not following his instructions. He first comes to us and then we come before him. This example of God sets the pattern for the way we are to interact with all the other citizens and potential citizens of the kingdom. Stress free, just humility. Since our maker is humble we can be, but of course it needs our human nature to be changed.
Who was the solitary worker who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus? We don’t know a thing about him, except that he was neither monitored nor regulated by human agency. Some of us couldn’t be true without our accountability groups. What happened to the solitary worker? Did God lead him to some friends he could influence and be influenced by? The disciples, who at that time, were seeking earthly greatness probably longed to enlist him in their service and control him, Jesus didn’t encourage that.
Selected passage: Mark 9:30-41
What were you arguing about? That was Jesus’ question to his companions as he traveled towards Jerusalem, on his last journey before crucifixion. They were too embarrassed to tell him that they had been arguing about who was the greatest.
The greatest, by earthly standards, gets the power. Power to do things our way, or to gather still more power. The greatest, by earthly standards, doesn’t need to suffer from feelings of inferiority, he’s proved his superiority. The greatest is at the top of the ladder; other people envy him and try to emulate him.
The kingdom of God is upside down. Humility and service are the measuring rods of heavenly greatness. God is the rewarder; he sees the unseen acts of kindness and counts the cups of water given in his name.
God is a condescending God. He waits for people rather than demanding that they come now. He is patient rather than sweeping us away because we are not following his instructions. He first comes to us and then we come before him. This example of God sets the pattern for the way we are to interact with all the other citizens and potential citizens of the kingdom. Stress free, just humility. Since our maker is humble we can be, but of course it needs our human nature to be changed.
Who was the solitary worker who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus? We don’t know a thing about him, except that he was neither monitored nor regulated by human agency. Some of us couldn’t be true without our accountability groups. What happened to the solitary worker? Did God lead him to some friends he could influence and be influenced by? The disciples, who at that time, were seeking earthly greatness probably longed to enlist him in their service and control him, Jesus didn’t encourage that.
posted by Jessie Coates at 11:41 PM
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