My family is a family of nicknames....really...We don't call anyone by name. When I was little my mom started calling my brother, Lucas, "Chachi". I couldn't pronounce it so I called him Chooky...I still do today. We are three years apart, very different from each other, but very close. I constantly give my parents a hard time that they love him more than me. Chooky does the same... Teasing that they love me more than him. We were raised the same, but like I said, we turned out very different, but we both have done great things.
In the Upper Room, the 12 disciples were together with Jesus. They had done great things also, living, breathing, and being with Jesus for three years during His ministry. Jesus had already shared of his impeding death, the tone had been set, but they began to "dispute" who was the greatest. I'm sure they were battling their insecurities, boasting about their accomplishments and miracles, the time they ha spent with Jesus, and argued their cases. They may have looked at their works and sought that reassurance from Jesus that they were the greatest...seeking favor and love. Well, Jesus's response was that of love...just not what they expected or maybe wanted to hear. To the last meal they shared together Jesus still taught, shared his wisdom and showed his love.
To be the greatest is: "be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves....I am among you as one who serves," (Luke 22:26-27.) Jesus revealed his heart to his disciples... He came to serve. His service showed his love and his love was shown on the cross. As followers of Jesus Christ we should be patting ourselves on the back, looking for man's approval, or waiting for that gold star from God. Paul later wrote in Galatians 5:13-14, "Serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. " Below I added some commentary from Martin Luther about these verses from Galatians.
I am challenged today (as I'm sitting on an airplane going home to NM) to look at serving in a different light. Know that Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, I'm reminded that he was The Greatest. The Greatest. The Greatest. I am challenged to serve and to do it through love, not because someone will give me that pay on the back. But to serve like Jesus did. To love like Jesus did.
From Martin Luther:
"It is tersely spoken: "Love thy neighbour as thyself." But what more needs to be said? You cannot find a better or nearer example than your own. If you want to know how you ought to love your neighbor, ask yourself how much you love yourself. If you were to get into trouble or danger, you would be glad to" "have the love and help of all men. You do not need any book of instructions to teach you how to love your neighbor. All you have to do is to look into your own heart, and it will tell you how you ought to love your neighbor as yourself.
My neighbor is every person, especially those who need my help, as Christ explained in the tenth chapter of Luke. Even if a person has done me some wrong, or has hurt me in any way, he is still a human being with flesh and blood. As long as a person remains a human being, so long is he to be an object of our love.
Paul therefore urges his Galatians and, incidentally, all believers to serve each other in love. "You Galatians do not have to accept circumcision. If you are so anxious to do good works, I will tell you in one word how you can fulfill all laws. 'By love serve one another.' You will never lack people to whom you may do good. The world is full of people who need your help."
Excerpt From: Luther, Martin. "Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians." iBooks.
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