Devotionals
Probably the most difficult concept Jesus taught was this idea that in order to gain anything you must be willing to give away everything. Loving your enemies to gain a possible friendship is only one example of unselfishness bringing forth great fruit. The Apostle Paul explains this in his letter to the church at Corinth in 2nd Cor. 8:15 when he quotes “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” Why is this? This is because we learn to share through the example of Christ’s willingness to suffer in our place so we might have what only God can provide in eternal life.
Therefore Christians need to consistently be aware of the needs of those around us as the Holy Spirit leads to provide in the Name of Jesus. The Lord explains in Luke 13:30 even in heaven there will be those who were last who are now first, and the first will be last. God is the ultimate defender of the underdog, so much so that He sees us in our iniquity and offers what only a knight in shining armor could rescue us from, our own sin. Jesus says in Mark 10:29 that those who are willing to suffer persecution from even family and friends will be put first; having been last in the eyes of others, yet obedient to God through faith.
When speaking to the twelve in Mark 9:35 Jesus said if anyone desires to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. What Jesus is talking about in all these passages of scripture is justice eventually winning because Christ Himself has defeated death and every kind of conceit, pride, and arrogance that brings forth the fruit of injustice toward those who most need God’s mercy. If Jesus sounds like He’s stuck in a loop of some kind with this first and last business, it’s only because it’s at the core of who God is according to Rev. 22:13, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”
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