Luke 9:46-62

Key Verse: "Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest." (Luke 9:48)

This passage made me think about my attitude toward Christ and toward his call for my life. The story begins with Jesus’ disciples arguing over who was the greatest among them. One or two may have thought that they were Jesus’ favorite disciple, and each knew their own strengths and weaknesses and held them over each other during the fight. No doubt they wondered who would be in charge when Jesus left; or at least who was the leader among them, but Jesus quickly put a stop to their bickering. Verses 47 and 48 say that “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest."”

This contradictory statement likely confused the disciples, as it would to anyone with a worldly perspective. But Jesus, as always, speaks here with a spiritual objective in mind. Our society values things such as individuality, self-confidence, and independence. However, God values humility and despises arrogance, and that is what Jesus was trying to make the disciples understand. To welcome a child—to interact with, take care of, and value that child—often means lowering oneself to their level. It means giving of one’s own time, effort, resources, and most often our pride. Raising a child takes a very long time and is a very thankless (and seemingly fruitless) job.

Jesus said to “welcome them in [His] name.” We need to care for others—not just little children—as Jesus would love them. Serving others in the name of Jesus is a way to bring the love and message of Christ into someone’s life. It brings Christ into the relationship and teaches us a valuable lesson in humility and adopting a Christ-like attitude. Through serving others with a right and willing heart, we can bring honor to God—and not to ourselves.

This is an area where I am extremely lacking. I enjoy serving people, but only when it is convenient for me to do so. I am reluctant to volunteer for serving projects because I like to leave my schedule open and flexible in case something comes up that I want to do. Even when I do come forward, I hold back, leave things until the last minute, or back out with shoddy excuses. I like making other people happy on my own terms, and I get upset when my work is not appreciated. If I go out of my way to do something for someone else and get no “thank you” in return, it bothers me. I don’t fly into a rage about it, but I am disappointed, irritable, or reluctant to take such an action again when the opportunity arises. It is difficult to maintain that Christ-like perspective and a loving heart for people even when I get nothing in return.

It is even harder when you receive opposition when serving. You all know about the problems we had at my last church, and one thing I struggled with was the rejection I felt after of all the time we had spent trying to help that church to grow. I’ve come to realize that a lot of that hurt was because of my own attitude as much as the actions of those that hurt me and my family. In general, I was not serving that church out of a loving heart for the people but out of a moral obligation as the pastor’s daughter. There were times when I would do things of my own free will, but my general attitude was that of an unwanted responsibility. I believe now that God is using that separation to make me aware of my own shortcomings and change my attitude.

Since I don’t have any children of my own and hardly any in my life, the “little ones” in my life are more like spiritual little ones. These little ones are people with little or no true understanding of God. They need someone in their lives who can minister to them with a loving heart; to serve them with patience, humility. I do not have that kind of heart.

Luke 6:32-35 says, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

It is easy to care about those that love me in return, but I otherwise have a cynical view of the world and its people. There are many people in the world who are ready to hear the Gospel of Christ, but because of my own fear, or pride, or because it is an inconvenience, I don’t share. My attitude needs a huge makeover; that level of patience, strength, and humility is beyond me. But that is why I need to rely on God all the more; to seek Him, to know Him, to desire the same things He desires.

Pray for me as I continue to grow in humility and set aside my own pride so I can better serve Him and His people.

One Word: A humble and serving heart for the world’s “little ones.”