At least once a year, I watch “Band of Brothers” created by HBO. The show follows a company of US soldiers during WWII through Europe. It reminds me of the sacrifices of men and women who were part of the greatest generation and makes me appreciate all that I have. But how does greatness get defined in the Kingdom of Jesus?
In Mark 9, the disciples are arguing over who is the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus doesn’t discourage greatness but does redefine it for us saying, “The first will be last and the last will be first”. In Matthew 20, the disciples are again arguing over who’s the greatest among the disciples. Jesus says look, I have an upside down kingdom. If you want to be great, you’ll need to be the servant and slave of all.
In Luke 22 as Jesus celebrates Passover with the disciples one last time before he’s killed, he redefines the Passover meal into what Christians celebrate today as the Lord’s supper or Eucharist. After Jesus breaks bread with them and drinks the watered wine, the disciples begin to argue over who’s the greatest! But Jesus says, “I’ve told you I want you to experience the best life possible and the path to that greatness is not pushing people around but serving those you encounter.”
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story of a land owner who went on a trip but before he left, he gave 5 bags of silver to one servant, 2 bags of silver to another servant and 1 bag to the last servant. Upon his return, the 5-bag servant had earned 5 more bags and the 2-bag servant earned 2 more. The master said well done! Let’s celebrate and I’ll give you more because of how you used the resources to gain more.
But the 1-bag servant was afraid of the master so he hid his silver and did nothing with it. Upon the master’s return, the master took away what the last servant had and gave it to the 5-bag servant. So, what’s the moral of the story and how does it relate to greatness in Jesus’ kingdom?
Well, we notice the 5-bag servant put his resources to work immediately…he didn’t wait. Some of us make plans to work in the kingdom but after our kids graduate and leave home or after I get my nest egg built up or when I get different working hours. But Jesus reminds us it’s a mindset. We all have been given “gifts”. Gifts could be time, talents or resources. The point is, whatever we have, if you follow Jesus, start today using that for kingdom.
We also have to realize that all the resources you have (time, talent, physical resources) are entrusted to us and don’t belong to us. Everything we have was given to us by Jesus and while we have it, it’s used for His glory and for his kingdom.
Too many of us have adopted the American mentality of entitlement and owning, using what we have been blessed with for our own purposes. If this is your spirit, your joy and peace will be wrapped up in the stock market and your bank account. But if you realize what you have is really not yours, your joy and peace will be wrapped up in Jesus.
Finally, if you follow Jesus, serve others as one who will give an account of your life one day. The Bible mentions that we are allotted 70 years on earth. The current US average for life is just under 79 years. In the moment, we think we have all the time in the world to live into the life we have but the truth is, it is a very small window to make a kingdom difference.
Jesus is coming back and when he does, he will not say good job my good and faithful social media influencer or good job my good and faithful public school teach. King Jesus will recognize me by the way I stepped into kingdom life and served those around me. I look forward to the day when my Savior looks at me and says, “Well done my good and faithful SERVANT.”
As we live into the greatness of the kingdom of Jesus, we want to be like him which means we serve those around us and recognize, others are more important than we are. Blessings on the journey.