The right ambition
| They came to Capernaum. When He was in the house, He asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark9:33-35) |
Just some context for today's passage: Yesterday we looked at the lonely road Jesus was walking as He headed to the cross where He would lay down His life for us. The disciples just didn't understand.
We see the depth of their misunderstanding in today's passage because, immediately after Jesus had just declared His intention to lay down His life, they're arguing about greatness.
When they get to their destination, Jesus asks "What were you arguing about on the road?"
It's amazing - it was OK to argue on the road while Jesus was out of earshot, but now that He's listening, they don't want to admit it. Sometimes there are things we wouldn't do if we remembered that Jesus is near enough to see and hear.
So Jesus sits down.
This is the posture of a Rabbi.
It signifies that something of importance is about to be said.
"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
This is the pulse of the kingdom.
Our ambition should never be for position but for the privilege of service.
We should be striving to be last - not to be losers - but to make everyone around us win.
Our goal is to help everyone around us reach their full potential.
Our ambition is to see others thrive and grow.
We're here to serve
- not so that people will compliment us,
- but that we can complement (note the different spelling) them.
I'm a cycling fan and so I was interested in the fanfare around the retirement of the Belgian rider Tim Declercq. He was celebrated and acknowledged by some of the most successful cycling champions, even though he did not have a single victory as a professional. Why? Because of the number of times he helped others to win. As a slightly bigger rider, he would spend hours riding at the front of his team so that the champion of the team could shelter in his slipstream. He would bury himself: riding until his legs gave out, fetching drinks and food from the team car and encouraging his teammates. Over the years, many riders benefited from his selfless service, as he helped them to earn victories and accolades. The two titles given to him were "El Tractor" and "Super Domestique" recognising the immense efforts he made to pull others to victory and his heart to assist them in whatever way he could.
Tim Declercq understood that he was part of an ecosystem and not an egosystem...
And it gave him great joy to do it.
May we do the same...
