WHATEVER...

A church member sent me a note last week that took my breath away. Want to know what she said? Well, read on...to the end!

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They're jockeying for the pole position out there on the road. They know what we know: there is something exhilarating about being first, about being in the lead, about being the VIP in the room, about getting your way. As one 5-year-old I know says when she is at the back of the family procession on a park trail, "I don't want to be the caboose!"

In the 9th chapter of Luke Jesus has told his friends that he is going to die for them...and the world. You might suppose that example of suffering servanthood would elicit some degree of humility in the disciples. Hearing their teacher talk about giving up his life, you might think they would curb their own ego needs and their fear of being lost in the back of the parade... the procession.

But, no, an argument breaks out (verse 46) "among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest." It's not pretty.

Jesus took a small child, had the child stand beside him, and said, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For whoever is least among you all is the greatest."

As we are tempted to elbow others out of the way to get what we want, the words of Jesus point us in another direction. We want to be up on the VIP stand and Jesus tells us to look for a way and place to serve.

Last week I received a note from a church member who had been working hard on something for the church. We weren't sure we could accommodate what she was trying to accomplish, and do you know what she said back in an email?

"Whatever is best for the greater good."

She meant it.

This amazing woman has the heart of a servant. And she trusts the leaders of the church to do their best...even when they can't explain every part of the decision they have made.

My friend isn't insisting that the whole body be just like her, but she understands the body is made up of different parts...and yet we are one.

Is her statement a good description of how we live out our life together as a member of Christ's people? When you next come to a point where you aren't getting your way in a difficult moment, after you've done your best for Christ, what would it take for you to say what she has said: "Whatever is best for the greater good?"

I have a hunch. A congregation of people with a "Whatever is best for the greater good" mindset would change the world. A church with that kind of heart would transform the community. A "Whatever is best for the greater good" soul community would be magnetic, attracting hundreds and hundreds of people eager to be a part of that kind of faith fellowship.

Isn't that something? In a world where people argue about who is the greatest or who will get their way, there is this line: "Whatever is best for the greater good."

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark