SCRIPTURE: Matthew 20
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. [Matthew 20:25-26] In this chapter we experience (again) the contrary ways of God. How does God operate? Not like us!!!
The way of God is not top down, but bottom up. The way of love, kindness, grace, patience, mercy, gentleness. Certainly God could come down from the top, with force, violence, and rage. And sometimes He does, though only after repeated attempts to change things by grace. God’s first response is not top-down, but bottom-up.
The first story shows God’s excessive generosity. He doesn’t treat us (or pay us) as we deserve [Psalm 103:10], and it’s a good thing. His prediction of what will happen in Jerusalem shows that God is willing to pay a HUGE PRICE Himself to reconcile us. His teaching about leading in a different way from the rulers of this world makes it very clear how God’s way differs from ours. His compassion on the blind beggars (while everyone else was telling them to shut up), shows again how God is more compassionate than us.
As Jesus followers, we should be different! Our response to life , to challenges, to needs in others, to offenses, should be different. If we are truly committed to God’s way, then we ought to be known for generosity, sacrifice, servanthood and compassion. Is this how we are known in our community? Do they know that we are His disciples because of our love?
This world is God’s domain. But He has entrusted its daily affairs to us, His chosen vice-regents. Our calling is to do things His way. The reason the world is such a mess is because we do things our way. Jesus comes to show us God’s way, and to call us back to it. This is the call of the kingdom, the invitation of the King to return to His world, His paradise.
As Jesus-followers, we are subjects of the King, citizens of the kingdom. The way we operate MUST BE different. For this to happen, we need to stick very close to our King, striving to be more like Him, admitting when and where we fail, and relying on His guidance and power to change.
PRAYER:
Lord, Your way is the best way. I choose again to follow You!
LORD, forgive us for the selfishenss, the competitiveness, the constant comparing of one another that happens today within our christian communities. It was never an will never be about ‘us’. It is ALL about You and Your grace!
Just like the disciples LORD, it is so hard to grasp what it means to truly have a servant heart / attitude in our world today. The world teaches us to be so opposite of what You intended us to be. So much time and energy is wasted on ‘striving’ to be the best, to get to the ‘top’, to look out for number 1 (ourselves). Help us LORD to refocus our lives, to make the necessary changes in our hearts, minds and lives today so that we may live as You desire us to live. Thank You LORD that it is never too late to make changes.
LORD, too often as Christ followers, we are told to be quiet just like the blind men. May we be desperate enough for You that we too will not be kept silent. Give us voice to plead that You will give us eyes to truly see You! We need You LORD to heal us. Pour out Your Spirit LORD. Make me a servant, humble and meek. LORD, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be: Make me a servant, make a servant, make me a servant today. Help me to know LORD, Your love for me. Help me to show LORD, Your love through me…….Give me Your Spirit, flow through my heart, streams of refreshing to others impart….. Thank You LORD.
The story about the workers in the vineyard shows that God is in control and does things God’s way and not man’s way. For all who work in His kingdom will get the same reward if they are part of His family no matter how long they have been part of the family. God’s values are radical, going against the flow of the world. How do I live God’s way today?
Even in the reading, we see that the disciples did not understand God’s ways. The mother of the Zebedee brothers asked for a ruling position in the kingdom – a place of honour. This was an earthly idea – who’s first. And when the other disciples heard about it they too became part of the problem – desiring a place of honout, prestege. Yet Christ told them once again, that whoever wants to be great must serve. Servant leadership. Foot washing. When you know whose you are, you will be as a servant to them.
Lord, give me the strength and wisdom to be Your servant in the garden today. Help me in my task in all I do and say. It is You whom I am serving. May that be evident by my actions and words. Lead me, Guide me by Your Spirit.
Jesu, Jesu,
Fill us with Your love, show us how to serve
The neighbors we have from You.
Kneels at the feet of his friends,
Silently washes their feet,
Master who acts as a slave to them.
Refrain
Neighbors are rich and poor,
Neighbors are black and white,
Neighbors are near and far away.
Refrain
These are the ones we should serve,
These are the ones we should love;
All these are neighbors to us and You.
Refrain
Loving puts us on our knees,
Serving as though we are slaves,
This is the way we should live with You.
Refrain
Kneel at the feet of our friends,
Silently washing their feet,
This is the way we should live with You.
Refrain