A Thanksgiving theme

This is a big week for America, one where we get together with loved ones (or, in some cases, not-so-loved ones) and partake of relatively huge feasts of foods we might otherwise not touch the rest of the year. Most people have forgotten or just never knew what Thanksgiving was instituted for, and I'm not going to recount that in this post (though I may in a later one). However, I am going to write about the attitude I am seeking to carry all the time, but this week especially.

Matthew 19 and 20 have events and parables that reflect one basic precept of the kingdom of heaven: a man who seeks to be a leader amongst those of the kingdom is not one who sets himself up as a great ruler, or one who is able to command others to do his bidding. Rather, a man who would become this sort of leader is one who would humble himself to do the lowest jobs called for, one who would set himself below all others so that he might serve them. In 20:16-30, a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks what moral act is further required of him to get into heaven:

And behold, a man came up to him saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, swell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Then Peter said in reply, "See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

This is confusing to a lot of people, and many take it to mean that if you are rich, you cannot be saved. Many opportunistic peddlers of God's Word use it as a way to get people to give much of their income to their church or ministry. Certainly money can be a hindrance to closeness with God, as it can engender both fear in lean times and laxity in times of abundance (and I certainly deal with both). But as Jesus said, to follow Him one must be willing to become a servant--to become last. In those days saying "humble yourself" didn't have quite the same connotations it does today. "Make yourself like your lowest servant" would have meant some rather bad things to a lot of people. Even still, to further complicate the issue, simply doing it on the outside is not any better than not doing it at all.

Just as Paul calls for Christians to be cheerful givers in 2nd Corinthians, so we must seek to be cheerful servants. Everything we have is from God, and for God. He has blessed me richly, and because of that I want to react in that overflow of God's love by reaching out to others. This week especially, I am excited by the prospects of service laid before me. Not because I want some kudos or pats on the back, but because it's a chance to get my hands dirty for someone else, to do just a little bit for another what Christ did for me, and hoping that I reflect just a bit of His glory in that act. This week's post will be about the general theme of service for others in times of plenty.