The Greatest

If we go to the Book of Luke 9:48 (NKJV), Jesus says,

“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”

Isn’t it amazing how everything the world strives for and everything that the world sees as successful, Jesus sees it almost in the opposite?

The San talk about the upside-down tree, referring to the mighty baobab tree, because in the winter it sheds all its leaves, and it looks like the roots are sticking up in the air and that the main part of the tree is underground. The Gospel is sometimes referred to in Christian terms as the upside-down Gospel. If you want to be the greatest, you have to be the least.

The Lord says to us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV),

“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

So when we are weak then we are strong. When the disciples were disputing about who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus took a little child, put the child on His knee and said “If you want to be the greatest in the kingdom of God, you must be prepared to be the least”.

Yet we drum it into our children when they are very young: “you have to be first, you mustn’t be last, you have to be the swiftest, you have to be the strongest” - and that is not what the Lord says. He says we need to be gracious, we need to be humble, we need to be kind to each other, especially in these days in which we are living where so many people are struggling with depression, anxiety, fear and stress. 

There is nothing nicer for me than to sit around with a group of my grandchildren and just talk. Not about anything specific, just talk. It is so very refreshing to hear out of their young mouths, truths they come out with and seeing life through their eyes as well as their perspective. We really need to simplify our lives if we are going to make it to the end.

Jesus bless you

Angus and Jill Buchan