Tag Archives: child

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – TRUE LEADERSHIP

Bible Study, ,

TRUE LEADERSHIP

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” Mark 9:33-37

What is the significance of receiving a child in the name of Jesus? A child is like soil, full of potential – for both good and evil. What is sown in a child in his formative years will grow and reproduce in adulthood. Above all the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, a child needs love, acceptance and a safe place to be himself so that he can learn and grow in the four dimensions of his being, in body, in spirit, in favour with God and men. To deny a child these basic needs is to leave his soul vulnerable to the intrusion of the enemy.

Why did Jesus draw His disciples’ attention to a child in the context of their argument over the pecking order in the kingdom? Was it because, once again, they had not grasped the essence of true leadership? Their underlying focus in this on-going contest was selfish. They wanted to make their own mark on this kingdom, wanting to have a position in the limelight where they could have influence over the realm and its subjects. Jesus made it clear that the only influence of value was their willingness to create enough space in a child’s life for him to grow to his full potential.

What does this mean in the context of the church? Although Jesus used a child as an example of someone with no rank or significance in the scheme of things, “child” can refer to any person who has been side-lined by society. Everyone deserves the opportunity to develop their potential in a safe zone where he is free to be himself without being afraid of criticism, judgement or rejection.

There are two contexts where this is possible – in the home and in the church. This can only happen in the atmosphere of unconditional love where those in leadership are willing to set their own position and interests aside in order to develop the potential of those in their care. This kind of greatness is unconscious and unsought and is the result of, not the reason for leadership.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – SMALL IS GREAT

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SMALL IS GREAT

“They started arguing over which of them would be the most famous. When Jesus realised how much this mattered to them, He brought a child to His side. ‘Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts me,’ He said, ‘and whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes the difference,”’ Luke 9:46-48.

This issue of who would be the greatest was on-going with the disciples. Being a disciple and follower of Jesus didn’t cure them of their power struggle. What was it that drove them to want the highest position in the kingdom He kept talking about? What did they understand by the “kingdom of God” anyway?

From the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus’ teaching was aimed at loosing both His disciples and the people who came to listen to Him, from their old ideas about the kingdom of God. They still equated the kingdom with their national boundaries and their national pride. David was their greatest king. He was a warrior and a champion. Under his rule, the boundaries of their territory were extended to the greatest Israel had ever been. They were a free people. Their enemies had all been defeated and they were safe and at peace under their own king.

Roman occupation with its oppression and cruelty aroused a fresh expectation of the Messiah who would deliver them from their enemies and re-establish a golden age of peace and safety. In this kingdom, their king would need a council, and they were surely to be it, but who would be top dog in that council? Each of them wanted the glory that went with the position. James and John even involved their mother in their ambition to be at the top. Perhaps her influence would count for something!

Imagine how shocking and revolutionary His solution was to their squabbling. But, like the issue of His crucifixion, everything He told them about greatness fell on deaf ears. It clashed with their ambition and they dismissed it without another thought. To be really great, Jesus told them, was to stoop down and recognise the value and potential of the smallest and least, a little child, but they would not see it that way.

Children had their place in society but it was at the bottom of the pecking order. They had no authority and wielded no influence. They were there, in the family, waiting to take their place when they became useful as partners in the family business, for example. Until that time, they were irrelevant.

What’s the real issue here? To acknowledge a child is to put oneself on his level, to recognise his worth and to see his potential. That means climbing down off one’s high horse and being willing to look beyond the end of one’s own nose. Jesus was insisting that His disciples foster the same attitude towards a child as He wanted them to have towards the outcasts of society.

It’s not about who performs the best for other people to see and congratulate, but it’s about who can see the potential for greatness in others and do what we can to nurture them towards fulfilment. When we can come down to the level of a child, we are putting things in their correct perspective.

It’s more about cutting ourselves down to size than it is about cutting others down to size. It’s about taking authority over our own hearts rather than having authority over other people. Jesus said, ‘If you want to rule, rule over yourself first. When you can do that, you are qualified to have authority over others because your humble attitude will enable you to act with grace and mercy towards them.’

Helpless people, especially children, need protection, not exploitation. Whatever position we occupy in society, it is up to us to take care of those who have no voice or power to protect themselves. How will irresponsible people, both mothers who make the decision to get rid of their offspring and those who perpetrate the evil deed, answer for the wholesale slaughter of unborn babies in the light of Jesus’ attitude towards little ones?

How do you measure yourself in the light of Jesus’ standard?

Time Out To Teach

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TIME OUT TO TEACH

They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were because He was teaching His disciples. He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.’ But they did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it (Mark 9: 30-32).

Time was getting short for Jesus. He needed to get the message across to His disciples. He was going to die at the hands of the authorities but they needed to know that it was all planned. It was urgent that they understand so that it would not take them by surprise. However, death would not be the end for Him. It would be part of the process. Unlike any other person before Him, death would not hold Him in the grave. With all the earnestness He could muster, He assured His disciples that He would rise again.

But they were deaf to His words. Uncomprehending. It was not His words that they did not understand but the very thought that anyone would rise from the dead. This was such an important message that He took His disciples somewhere out of reach of the crowds so that He could have time out with them, alone. But they just didn’t get it!

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 argued about who would be the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and servant of all.’ He took a little child whom He placed among them. Taking the child in His arms, He said to them, ’Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.’ (Mark 9: 33-37).

Here are some loaded statements. It is glaringly obvious at this stage that the disciples were just ordinary men. They were still without the Spirit. They lacked understanding and the old nature was still very much at work in them. In spite of every effort Jesus made to get them to understand that He did not come to get rid of Rome and set up a renewed Davidic kingdom in Israel, that’s what they believed and that’s what coloured their thinking. Everything He taught them was filtered through this expectation.

Of course that meant that they were the favoured ones who would hold high office in this new regime, or so they thought. They continually squabbled over the same thing – who would hold the highest office under Jesus? Their thinking was worldly; they wanted to go up, not down. Underneath the surface of this band of “followers” a power struggle was going on, and Jesus was well aware of it. It was His passion to promote unity among them by teaching them to submit to one another, but they had other ideas. Not even His patient teaching and example would shift this pernicious ambition from their minds.

In this atmosphere of constant competition, Jesus made a shocking statement – shocking because it cut across everything they believed at that moment. From the lowest rungs of society He had called them. They were catapulted from being nobodies to being somebodies because they were the disciples of the most powerful and popular rabbi in all Israel. It must have gone to their heads, especially when He taught about God’s kingdom. Now He informed them that the most important people in this kingdom were those who served. That was something they did not want to hear.

To crown it all He called a small child to Him. If they didn’t understand His words, He would give them a visual aid they would not easily forget. Picking up the little one, He made another startling statement. “Do you see this child?” He asked them. “If you want to be really great in God’s kingdom, you will need to get down on his level and accept him. Yes, even become like him.”

What? Become like a child? What did He mean? What is the most glaring characteristic of a child? Humility? Not really. Trust? Perhaps. Spontaneity? Maybe. Dependence? Absolutely. Whatever other characteristics a child might have, every single child from birth is absolutely dependent on someone else for survival. Left to himself he will die.

Strangely enough, it is dependence that cancels out pride. Children are taught to become independent so that they can grow up and leave home. In the kingdom of God, the opposite is true. It takes a lifetime to learn to be utterly dependent on God. That’s true humility, and when you do that, you will be able to bend down and accept a child as your equal.

Jesus taught His disciples, on the eve of His death:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5).

If unity with His disciples was His goal, then dependence was the way to that goal. To be one with Him means to be utterly useless without Him.    

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Like a Child

Pastor's Desk, ,

Dear Family

Quite often in the Scriptures, we find patterns of thought which are so contrary to the way we see things. We read stuff and wonder what on earth God was thinking to say what He does. For example, read this crazy stuff from Luke 6:34 & 35: “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…” Lend without expecting anything back?! Taken out of context we could end up in real trouble. Just imagine how long your business would survive with that one!

Likewise, the Master once said, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” What? This is nearly as wacked as “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” Some really interesting stuff!
How on earth do we become like “little children.? Surely we need to understand what we are doing, to grow up, to mature? After all, the Apostle Paul does say: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” Why on earth would we then need to become “like little children” in order to enter the kingdom of heaven? Clearly Jesus means something else.

I loved the total trust I saw in the eyes of my children when they we little. The way they would just believe what I said, listen to what I said, and usually do what I said. I loved the way they would simple adore me because I was their dad. I loved their cuddles, their kisses, their reckless abandon in demonstrating just how they felt about me. I loved them running towards me, with arms opened wide, launching into the air just knowing that I would catch them, play with them, hold them and love them. I loved praying with them at night time and seeing their confidence that they could go to sleep without fear. I loved watching their reactions when they received gifts for any occasion or just because. I loved hearing them laugh and play. Oh yes, I just loved having little children around!

Mmmmm…. Makes more sense now, doesn’t it?

Paul