Luke 9:46-48
Now came an argument among them as to which of them would be greatest in the coming Kingdom! But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he stood a little child beside him and said to them, “Anyone who takes care of a little child like this is caring for me! And whoever cares for me is caring for God who sent me. Your care for others is the measure of your greatness.” Luke 9:46-48 (NLT)
Imagine that! Grown men arguing about who among them would be the greatest! The argument sounds more like something that might occur between young school age boys than grown men! But here they were, the disciples, arguing amongst themselves in front of Jesus, but they of course, did not know their audience. The argument reminded me of the Kenny Rogers song, “The Greatest.” A ‘Little boy in a baseball hat, stands in the field with his ball and bat. Says, I am the greatest player of them all. Put his bat on his shoulder and he tosses up the ball.’ And of course, he tosses the ball up and swings and misses. And he does this 3 times, so he strikes out! His conclusion as he heads home for supper: ‘Says, I am the greatest, that is understood, But even I didn’t know I could pitch that good…’ He has reached an entirely different conclusion than the one he set out to test. And isn’t that what Jesus was doing with his disciples. He was trying to show his disciples that caring for others is like caring for Jesus and therefore God! To do that he used the little boy as a proxy for ‘other people.’ He explained to them that the true measure of their greatness was something different than they may have thought. It was how they cared for others, not whether they thought they were great. To me, this is one of the best lessons in the New Testament. If we truly want to be great, we need to care for others. I interpret others in its broadest sense! What a wonderful world it would be if we all could take this message to heart!
Questions for Reflection:
- When were you last challenged by this passage? Did you meet someone or group of people that were difficult to care for? Why were they difficult?
- Is there a way to justify our actions when we don’t follow this passage with individuals or groups of people?
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, please help me to expand my caring horizons to apply to as many folks as possible. If I can’t always meet this lofty goal, forgive me and help me do better! In your name I pray, Amen!
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