SCRIPTURE: Luke 9:46-56
“Then he said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.'”

OBSERVATION:
Ouch, three scenes where the disciples reveal their true character: who was the greatest, rejecting those who do not ‘belong’, and sending fire from heaven against those who reject Jesus. Here we see how much Jesus had to endure, all the while zeroing in on the ultimate crisis of the cross in Jerusalem. Jesus sets up a young child as an example of the ‘little people’ that Jesus came for. We need to be like little children (the least), and we need to graciously welcome the little children, if we want to receive Jesus. Following Jesus is not about position, prestige, power or popularity, it is about being humble, gracious, generous, compassionate, loving, merciful, etc.

APPLICATION:
I sense the Lord challenging me to join Him in His determination to humbly offer myself for the sake of others, and to stop vying for comfort, position, or public acclaim. I sense the Lord urging me to look around at the ‘little people’ in my life, and to see myself below them as their servants, not above them as their superiors. I am struck by the fact that the disciples did not get it, and wonder whether its also the case that I (we) do not get Jesus, that I am (we are) missing the point.

PRAYER:
Lord, there are times when I am looking for honour, when I excluding others, and when I am being critical of those who reject You (and me). Lord, humble me like a little child, and help me to care for them as little children. Amen.