Jesus, who's the best? Mark 9:30-37

From the earliest days, even before the cross, Jesus' followers have been trying to out do one another as super-disciples of their Lord. Jesus followers wanted to honor him and in turn the expect to find themselves in a place of greater honor than other believers.

The hard part is that following Jesus is (ultimately speaking) about dying to self and only then rising in Christ. We strive to serve more boldly. We believe we will become better people here and now and that we'll be honored here and now. What we don't realize is that all our striving leads not to immediate glory but to the cross and tomb first. Martin Luther king called it the Drum Major Instinct. We look for the glory here and now; but the glory we are waiting for is unlike any glory ever seen or heard of here on earth. Jesus was bound for the cross before rising and the cross is exactly where we're going to meet him.

In the Words of the 1970's classic Day by Day in the movie Godspell, Jesus friends always seek to be closer. "...to see thee more clearly, follow thee more nearly, and love thee more dearly..day by day." The desire to be close to God is good, but the desire to be the very closest to God is off the mark. Jesus response is simple if you want to be great live like he was living. Love, serve, give, and you will know great joy. Forget being the top servent of God. If you want to be great in the kingdom of God welcome Jesus into your life by welcoming other. The mystery of welcoming Jesus into our lives is that we must receive everyone from the little children to the old, from the poor to the powerful, from the sick to the strong like you are recieving Christ.