“The last shall be first and the first shall be last.”
It’s a upside down sort of saying. It doesn’t make sense. The first are first—everyone knows that. And the first tend to stay first. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The powerful gain more power, stealing it from those they can abuse and oppress. It’s the way the world is.
But it’s not the way of the kingdom. King Jesus came as a servant of all. He turned the rules upside down. The way to greatness in his kingdom is humility and service.
We so often measure status as the world sees. I wonder, when we get to heaven, how many surprises there will be. Is it possible that those honored there are the ones whose names we never knew on earth? The ones who wiped the noses, made the meals, and cleaned the floors—the ones who labored in prayer quietly, never asking for applause or honor. Will it be those who are honored above the Christian famous and praised above our evangelical megastars?
We serve a God who cares for the least. To be first in his kingdom, we have to be willing to be last.
This post is part of the Five Minute Friday linkup hosted by Lisa-Jo Baker over at her blog. She posts a prompt and this crazy group of bloggers writes for five minutes on whatever comes to mind. No editing. No second guessing. Just “finger-painting with words.” Click on over her blog to check it out and play along.
3 comments
Nice post Leigh. My home church is a denominational church with “first” in its name. They made these oval car stickers like you see around that say “First” on them. My gut reaction every time I see one is to think, “no, if you’re following Jesus that should really say “Last.” You are right, its a very upside down kind of thinking.
I love this post, such richness in a short piece. I guess we have to remember that what happens on earth, isn’t how eternity will work. Thank you for posting
Thank you both!
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