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Matthew 20:24-28
The mother of James and John has asked Jesus for a special place for her two sons at the right and left hand of Jesus in His kingdom, but the rest of the inner twelve disciples were not very happy to hear that they may now be lesser in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus, however, turns the tables of the normal thought pattern of man as He declares in Matthew 20:25-28 (NKJV), “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
This is an example of the greed, arrogance, and pride of man being overridden by the compassion, humility, and obedience of Jesus.
The ways of God and the ways of man are two paths that travel in opposite directions. The sinful nature that is at work in each of us is the self-centered, arrogant, and prideful ways of Satan that are reflective of him in our lives. It is this rebellion that Jesus came to save each one of us from. God is love (1 John 4:8,16), and the characteristics that are reflective of love are quoted by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as he declares, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
Dear LORD,
The competition factor of the sinful nature dwells within each and every one of us. It causes arrogance and self-centeredness; it causes the pride that was the fall of Satan himself. It is the desire of the devil to pull us away from the relationship You desire to have with each of us in the love that is the essence of Your being. Please help us to put aside the ways of the devil and replace them with the characteristics of love that will draw us more near to You LORD and to love our neighbor as ourself. In Jesus name I pray, amen.